Norway tops the list as the best place for a mother to raise her children, while the United States dropped from its ranking in the latest report released by the Save the Children foundation last Monday. The organization also ranked Somalia as the worst place in the world for moms, as cited in its annual State of the World's Mothers report.
The Mother's Index, which rates over 179 countries, has been released just in time for the observance of Mother's Day on May 10. The report took note of five factors, covering the economic status, education status, maternal health, child-rearing conditions and the overall status of women in the country.
Norway bumped Finland off the top spot this year, but many Scandinavian countries are still part of the Top 10 rankings. The lone non-European country to reach the Top 10 is Australia, which is at No. 9.
Last year, the United States ranked at No. 31 but has moved down to No. 33 in this year's index. While the country did earn better rankings under economics and education, it lags behind in maternal health, with Washington having the highest mortality rate among infants in a developed country, according to Reuters.
Poland, Japan and Croatia have higher rankings than the America, where a woman is 10 times more likely to die compared to these other nations, according to Yahoo.
Other developed countries like Canada is at No. 20, while France and Britain are at No. 23 and No. 24 respectively.
Those which ranked the lowest are from countries with conflict, where infant mortality rate is predominant. The bottom ten are mostly from the Africa, with Somalia as the lowest rated country in the study.
"We need to do more to make sure that all mothers and babies have a fair chance of survival and a happy, healthy life, no matter where they live," said the president and CEO of Save the Children, Carolyn Miles in a statement published by Mashable.
"Save the Children believes that a mother in Somalia or, frankly, a mother in America, deserves the same opportunity to thrive as a mother in Norway," Miles added.
Below are the rankings:
1. Norway
2. Finland
3. Iceland
4. Denmark
5. Sweden
6. Netherlands
7. Spain
8. Germany
9. Australia
10. Belgium
11. Austria
12. Italy
13. Switzerland
14. Singapore
15. Slovenia
16. Portugal
17. New Zealand
18. Israel
19. Greece
20. Canada
21. Luxembourg
22. Ireland
23. France
24. United Kingdom
*25. Belarus & Czech Republic (tied)
27. Estonia
*28. Lithuania & Poland (tied)
*30. Croatia & Korea, Republic of (tied)
32. Japan
33. United States of America
34. Slovakia
35. Serbia
36. Argentina
37. Macedonia
38. Saudi Arabia
39. Cyprus
*40. Cuba & Latvia (tied)
42. Montenegro
43. Grenada
44. Bulgaria
45. Costa Rica
46. Malta
47. United Arab Emirates
48. Chile
49. Bahrain
50. Libya
51. Hungary
52. Barbados
53. Mexico
54. Bosnia and Herzegovina
55. Qatar
*56. Russian Federation & Uruguay (tied)
58. Kazakhstan
59. Tunisia
60. Kuwait
*61. China & Ecuador (tied)
63. Oman
64. Bahamas
65. Turkey
66. Romania
67. Trinidad and Tobago
68. Saint Lucia
69. Ukraine
70. Mauritius
71. Malaysia
72. South Africa
73. Lebanon
74. Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of
75. Colombia
76. Algeria
77. Brazil
78. Panama
79. Peru
80. El Salvador
81. Moldova, Republic of
82. Albania
83. Thailand
84. Iran, Islamic Republic of
85. Cape Verde
*86. Georgia & Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (tied)
*88. Belize & Bolivia, Plurinational State of (tied)
90. Azerbaijan
91. Namibia
*92. Jamaica & Maldives & Sri Lanka (tied)
95. Dominican Republic
96. Fiji
97. Mongolia
98. Vietnam
99. Turkmenistan
*100. Iraq & Jordan
102. Nicaragua
103. Armenia
104. Tonga
105. Philippines
106. Timor-Leste
107. Kyrgyzstan
108. Suriname
109. Honduras
110. Paraguay
111. Syrian Arab Republic
112. Indonesia
113. Guyana
114. Nepal
115. Gabon
116. Egypt
117. Samoa
118. Uzbekistan
119. Botswana
120. Angola
121. Rwanda
122. Bhutan
123. Equatorial Guinea
124. Senegal
*125. Morocco & Vanuatu (tied)
127. Tajikistan
128. Lao People's Democratic Republic
129. Guatemala
*130. Bangladesh & Sao Tome and Principe (tied)
132. Cambodia
*133. Lesotho & Zimbabwe (tied)
135. Micronesia, Federated States of
136. Tanzania, United Republic of
137. Kiribati
138. Kenya
139. Zambia
140. India
141. Uganda
142. Swaziland
143. Solomon Islands
144. Mozambique
145. Cameroon
146. Sudan
147. Burundi
148. Congo
149. Pakistan
150. Mauritania
151. Ethiopia
*152. Afghanistan & Togo (tied)
154. Ghana
155. Madagascar
156. Eritrea
157. Papua New Guinea
158. Myanmar
*159. Malawi & South Sudan (tied)
161. Djibouti
162. Yemen
163. Benin
164. Guinea
165. Comoros
*166. Burkina Faso & Liberia & Nigeria
*169. Haiti & Sierra Leone
171. Guinea-Bissau
172. Chad
173. Côte d'Ivoire
174. Gambia
175. Niger
176. Mali
177. Central African Republic
178. Congo, Democratic Republic of the
179. Somalia
