Taylor Swift Makes Forbes Power Women List

Pop star Taylor Swift has joined high-flying leaders from the worlds of business, politics and showbiz on a list of the most powerful women in the world.

The Shake It Off singer, who is among the most popular celebrities on Twitter with 58 million followers, is a new entry at 64 in the Forbes Power Women List.

At the age of 25, she is the youngest person on a list topped by Angela Merkel for the fifth time in a row.

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton climbs from sixth to second in this year's list, while Melinda Gates, co-chairman of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with her husband, remains in third.

Both have been on the list since it began in 2004, along with the Queen, who drops six places to 41 but retains her status as the oldest entry at 89-years-old.

The 19 newcomers also include Bank of England deputy governor Nemat Shafik (66) and the new Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner (80).

They join Her Majesty as the UK's three representatives.

Facebook's second-in command Sheryl Sandberg, whose husband David Goldberg died in May while on holiday in Mexico , makes the list at number nine, one ahead of First Lady Michelle Obama.

One woman to fall off the list this year is pop singer Lady Gaga.

There are 15 billionaires, eight heads of state and 24 CEOs in the 100.

Combined, the women control nearly $1tn (£649bn) in annual revenues and have 474 million followers on Twitter and YouTube.

Forbes applies four metrics - money, media, impact and spheres of influence - in deciding who gets on the list.

The top 15 is:

1. Angela Merkel, German Chancellor
2. Hillary Clinton, US presidential candidate
3. Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
4. Janet Yellen, US Federal Reserve Bank chair
5. Mary Barra, CEO, General Motors
6. Christine Lagarde, MD of International Monetary Fund
7. Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil
8. Sheryl Sandberg, COO, Facebook
9. Susan Wojcicki, CEO, YouTube
10. Michelle Obama, US First Lady
11. Park Geun-hye, President of South Korea
12. Oprah Winfrey, media mogul
13. Virginia Rometty CEO, IBM
14. Meg Whitman, CEO, HP
15. Indra Nooyi CEO, PepsiCo