Report: Israel 45th best place for moms

World's Mothers Report ranks Israel below Cuba on list of best places to raise children. Norway ranks first, while Niger takes last spot

Daniel Edelson|Published: 05.15.12 , 07:02

Israel ranked 45 in the State of The World's Mothers Report, which ranks the countries where it is easiest to raise children. The three top spots, unsurprisingly, were taken by Norway, Iceland and Sweden.

The report, which is conducted by Save the Children organization, relies on data collected by the United Nations and the World Health Organization. Published for the past 13 years, the report examines women's level of education, wages and health condition, as well as other factors that are known to affect the conditions of raising children.

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The report is divided into three tiers: More developed countries, less developed countries and least developed countries. Israel is located in the middle category, where it is ranked in second place, after Cuba. However, in the overall ranking Israel only makes the 45th spot, followed by Barbados, Mongolia, South Korea, Brazil and South Africa. The worst place to raise children, according to the report, is in the poverty and hunger-stricken country of Niger.

And how are Israeli women and mothers ranked compared to others? According to the report, one in every 5,100 women in Israel dies of complications during pregnancy or childbirth, while the figure in the United States is 2,100. In Afghanistan, one of every 11 women die due to complications.

In addition, five out of every 1,000 children die under the age of five, compared with Iceland, which recorded 2 deaths under the age of five, and Somalia, which reported 180 deaths out of every 1,000 children.

Women's average life expectancy in Israel is 84, compared with Japan (87) and Afghanistan (49). An average Israeli woman has 16 years of schooling, compared with 20 in Australia and Iceland, and only four years in Niger.

The report also measured differences between men and women's wages around the world, indicating that men in Israel earn 56% more than women. In Norway, men's salaries are 30% higher than women's, while in Jordan males make 5 times more than their female colleagues.

In terms of family planning, the report indicated that 52% of women in Israel use contraceptives, compared with 84% of British women, 73% of American women and 6% of Ethiopians.