It is time we all packed up and left for greener pastures? [Photo: Rex]
Prepare
yourself for some disappointing news. In a round up of the world’s 20
top countries to raise a family in, the United Kingdom was noticeably
absent.
Instead,
the UK came in at 22nd place on the full 41-long list – not all that
bad when you consider just how many countries there are in the world,
but equally not that reassuring.
While
the British government has tried to initiate various childcare schemes
in the past few years and the quality of free education is very good
here, it still remains a very expensive country to raise a family in –
and many working parents struggle to juggle their career and home life.
The
winning country was Austria, labeled as the best country for families
because of a combination of children’s health and safety, children’s
general wellbeing, a wide range of leisure activities for kids and
family life in general.
In
Austria, companies provide parental leave following the birth of a
child plus a “kindergeld” – a monthly allowance for childcare expenses
until the child turns 18. So you can see why it’s such an attractive
place for families to live.
Austria was voted as the best place to raise a family. [Photo: Rex]
Finland
ranked second and also topped a sub-category in the poll thanks to its
quality of education. The European country has one of the lowest child
poverty rates in the EU, while the female employment rate is among the
highest – mainly thanks to the brilliant childcare system in place.
Access to public day care is guaranteed to all children under the age of
seven and generous parental leave is provided to help parents raise
their kids while continuing to work.
Sweden,
which is often described as a family paradise, came in third place.
Like Finland, it boasts inexpensive childcare and plenty of parental
leave. While the Nordic country is generally perceived as being a pricey
place to live, a study by Numbeo, a crowdsourced global database of
reported consumer prices, found that it’s actually far cheaper than many
other EU countries - including England and France.
Israel
was revealed as the fourth best place to raise a family, followed in
fifth place by New Zealand. Sixth place went to Singapore, seventh to
Germany, eighth to France, ninth to Australia and 10th to Luxembourg.
The 2015 Family Life Index poll, published by InterNations,
compiled their data after asking expat parents to rate the country they
moved to in terms of the quality, cost and availability of childcare
and education.
You can see the full list below…
1. Austria 2. Finland 3. Sweden 4. Israel 5. New Zealand 6. Singapore 7. Germany 8. France 9. Australia 10. Luxembourg 11. Denmark 12. Spain 13. Poland 14. Philippines 15. Mexico 16. Canada 17. Norway 18. South Africa 19. Bahrain 20. Costa Rica
