The Mothers' Index, compiled by the Save the Children organization, compared the status of mothers in 146 countries. Canada ranked 20th and the United States, 27 out of 41 developed nations. The individual country comparisons for poor countries are especially startling when one considers the human suffering behind the statistics:
One child in four does not reach his or her fifth birthday in Afghanistan, Angola, Niger and Sierra Leone. In Sweden, only one child in 333 dies before age five.
Fewer than 15 per cent of births are attended by skilled health personnel in Afghanistan and Chad; 96 per cent of births are attended by skilled health personnel in Sri Lanka.
Over the course of her lifetime, one woman in eight will die in pregnancy or childbirth in Afghanistan. Compare that to one in more than 47,000 in Ireland.
A typical woman in Angola, Dijbouti and Niger has less than four years of schooling versus a typical woman in Australia or New Zealand who receives over 20 years of formal education.
A girl born in Swaziland will not live to see her 30th birthday. Compare that to a girl born in Japan who will live to 86 years old.
The status of mothers was compared based on a number of indicators of women's and children's well-being, including:
Lifetime risk of maternal mortality
Percentage of women using modern contraception
Skilled attendant at delivery
Female life expectancy
Expected number of years of formal schooling for females
Under-five mortality rate
Percentage of children under age five moderately or severely underweight
Percentage of population with access to safe water
Save the Children is a U.S.-based humanitarian organization that is part of a global network working to better the lives of children in 120 countries. To view the whole Mother's Index, go to www.savethechildren.org and look under "latest news."
2008 Mothers' Index rankings
Top 10 Bottom 10
Best places to be a Worst places to be a
mother mother
Country Country
1. Sweden 137. Ethiopia
2. Norway 138. Mali
3. Iceland 139. Djibouti
4. New Zealand 140. Eritrea
5. Denmark 141. Guinea-Bissau
6. Australia 142. Angola
7. Finland 143. Sierra Leone
8. Ireland 144. Yemen
9. Germany 145. Chad
10. France 146. Niger
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