After Best Country to Live...

…Best Country for Mother

Norway likes to top the charts!

Norway the best country for mothers (The Foreigner)

The “State of the World’s Mothers 2010” report is based on ten criteria, including the economy, education, women's political intervention, health and children’s welfare.
Generally, Norway performed either as well as, or better than other countries in all the rankings indicators. It has the highest ratio of female-male income, the highest contraceptive prevalence rate, one of the lowest under-5 mortality rates, and one of the most generous maternity leave policies in the developed world.
The contrast between top-ranked country Norway, and Afghanistan at the bottom is striking. Skilled health personnel are present at virtually every birth, while fewer than 15 percent of births are attended in Afghanistan.
A typical Norwegian woman has over 18 years of education, and will live to be 83 years old. 82 percent are using some modern method of contraception, and only 1 in 132 women will lose a child before its fifth birthday.
In Afghanistan, a typical woman has just over 4 years of education and has a life expectancy of just 44 years. Only 16 percent of women are using modern contraception and more than one child in four dies before reaching its fifth birthday. At this rate, every mother in Afghanistan is likely to suffer the loss of a child.
The data collected documents the tremendous gaps between rich and poor countries and the urgent need to accelerate progress in the health and well-being of mothers and their children. The data also highlights the regional dimension of this tragedy. Three of the bottom 10 countries are Arab States and seven are in sub-Saharan Africa, which also accounts for 16 of the 20 lowest-ranked countries.
Save the Children is still concerned about healthcare in many countries. The report states, that in Angola, for example, one in five children doesn’t live to be five years old.
The list of 160 countries, including 43 developed countries and 117 developing countries,

Norway, Australia, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark trust the 5 top spots

United States ranked 28th (over 43 of the more developed countries or over 160 total countries in the study). The United States has the least generous maternity leave -both in term of duration and percentage of wages paid- of any wealthy nation.

France is number 12 on the Mother’s Index Rank, 13th on the Woman’s Index Rank and 4th on the Children’s Index Rank (Under-5 mortality rate, gross per pre-primary enrollment ratio and gross per secondary enrollment ratio). Norway drops to #9 – USA to # 34 on the Children's Index Rank

State of the World’s Mothers 2010 (PDF)