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Run the World (Girls) is de eerste single van het vierde studioalbum 4 van Beyoncé. Het thema van dit lied is: "de macht aan de vrouw" (female empowerment). Het lied gebruikt fragmenten uit Pon de Floor, een lied uit 2009 van twee van de huidige schrijvers: Wesley "Diplo" Pentz en David "Switch" Taylor. Daaruit voortkomende genre-invloeden uit de alternatieve hiphop en dancehall werden gemengd met de r&b- en pop-sound van Beyoncé. Muziekcritici vergeleken het nummer met eerdere feministische singles van Beyoncé: Independent Women (2000), Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (2008) en Diva (2009) – Run the World (Girls) is in hun ogen meer rechtstreeks en assertief dan de voorgangers.

"Run the World (Girls)" is a song by American singer Beyoncé from her fourth studio album 4 (2011), released as the lead single from the album on April 21, 2011. An unedited demo of the song, then thought to be titled "Girls (Who Run the World)", was leaked on the internet on April 18, 2011. "Run the World" premiered on US radio on April 21, 2011, and was digitally released the same day.

"Run the World" is an electropop and R&B song that heavily samples "Pon de Floor" by Major Lazer. In an interview with Pitchfork published on February 12, 2012, Santi “Santigold” White asserts that she had previously done some writing for Beyoncé and was the first person to show her the “Pon de Floor” video, which inspired Beyoncé and her producers to sample the song.

The song's title and lyrics comprise an unapologetically aggressive message promoting female empowerment. "Run the World" received mixed reviews by critics; some complimented the song's sample, its musical direction, and Beyoncé's aggressiveness, while others criticized the continuation of past themes and stated that they wanted to see Beyoncé covering new topics. Some critics compared "Run the World" to Beyoncé's other singles with similar themes such as "Independent Women" (2000) – with Destiny's Child, and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" (2008) among others, wanting to see Beyonce move past these same familiar themes.

In the United States, the song was moderately successful, peaking at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It fared better in some international markets, reaching the top ten in Australia, Belgium, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Norway. It was also a top 20 hit in Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The song's accompanying music video was directed by Francis Lawrence and was filmed in California over a three-day span. The video won Best Choreography at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards and Best Dance Performance at the 2011 Soul Train Music Awards.

Beyoncé promoted the single with live performances at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards and on the French X Factor. Her performance at the Billboard Music Awards ignited controversy surrounding the production due to visual similarities to a performance by Italian entertainer Lorella Cuccarini in February 2010 at the 60th Sanremo Music Festival in Italy. "Run the World" was used to awaken the crew of the final mission of the US Space Shuttle Atlantis and was dedicated to Mission Specialist Sandra Magnus.