The 2021 Women’s EURO was due to be held in England from July 7 to August 1 2021 but will now take place between July 6 and July 31 2022.
The decision was arrived at in an executive meeting on Thursday, with the European footballing calendar badly disrupted because of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The Men’s EURO 2020 has been moved to next summer while the Tokyo Olympic games, which includes women’s football, will also take place in the summer of 2021.
To avoid two women’s competitions taking place in the same summer, UEFA has decided to move EURO 2021 back a year to give it the attention it deserves.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said: "When we had to take an urgent decision on the postponement of Euro 2020, we always had the impact on Women's Euro 2021 in mind.
"We have carefully considered all options, with our commitment to the growth of women's football at the forefront of our thinking. By moving Women's Euro 2021 to the following year, we are ensuring that our flagship women's competition will be the only major football tournament of the summer, providing it with the spotlight it deserves."
Nadine Kessler, UEFA's chief of women's football, added: "The core question guiding us together with the English FA was: What is best for women's football?
"With the Olympics now being confirmed for summer 2021, we firmly believe that moving to 2022 is in the best interests of the tournament, the players, the fans, women's football partners and everybody involved in all areas and at all levels of the game.
"Women's Euro 2021 is Europe's biggest women's sport event. It is also among the biggest sports events in the world, and therefore needs and deserves a platform of its own. This decision puts us in a position to deliver a tournament that attracts global attention, maximises media coverage and increases stadium attendances, and is therefore helping us to meet our core objective of inspiring the next generation of footballers."
