EXCERPTS
There’s hearsay, there are anecdotes from other families, and there are stories shared by the media. Then, there is hard data. We’ve gathered critical statistics from 30 trusted international sources to create the “Raising a Family Index” that will help you find the best countries for raising children in 2020.
Methodology
We ranked 35 OECD countries (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) around the world to see which are the best to raise a family. Our definitive “Raising a Family Index” is made up of 6 categories, comprising a total of 30 factors identifying favorable conditions for raising a family. The categories include Safety, Happiness, Cost, Health, Education, and Time.
To access full data sources, interactive tables , the weighting of each category, and a full explanation of the methodology used in this study, see the main websitemain website.
The 35 best countries to raise a family
Not surprisingly, all the Scandinavian countries ranked very well for raising a family. Out of the 35 countries included in our analysis, Iceland narrowly beat Norway to claim the #1 spot on the list. Iceland achieved top-10 rankings in all categories and was #1 in safety.
Below are the 35 best:
1. Iceland
2. Norway
3. Sweden
4. Finland
5. Luxembourg
6. Denmark
7. Germany
8. Austria
9. Belgium
10. Czech Republic
11. Netherlands
12. Portugal
13. France
14. Australia
15. Slovenia
16. Ireland
17. Spain
18. New Zealand
19. Canada
20. Poland
21. Hungary
22. Switzerland
23. United Kingdom
24. Italy
25. Japan
26. Israel
27. Slovak Republic
28. Korea
29. Greece
30. Romania
31. Bulgaria
32. Turkey
33. Chile
34. United States
35. Mexico
Why did the US rank so poorly?
Since the United States was in many ways an outlier, we felt it was necessary to give additional commentary, context and statistics on why the US ranked second to last on our list.
Additionally, Lyric shares her perspective on raising our family of two young kids, Kingsley and Aurora, in the USA. She goes through all six categories and reflects on her experience of being a mother but also her experience growing up in America.
Here are her thoughts:
The first time I looked at the data I was in disbelief. I thought there must be a mistake.
I know Americans are struggling, but how could the United States rank as the 34th best country to raise a family in 2020?
I said, “We have to check. We need to crunch the numbers again.” We did. The data was undeniably correct.
This led me into a deep personal reflection. Would my anecdotal experience, growing up and raising two children in the US, remotely line up with the data?
I went one-by-one into each of the six categories. What I discovered, in many instances, was quite shocking. I had experienced trauma or notable challenges in each category.
In “Safety” alone, I experienced two violent incidents before I turned 20: one school shooting and one student homicide in my college cafeteria.
This study has been eye-opening for me. Even as a well educated, thoughtful individual, I had become so numb to the country’s inadequacies that I must have simply disregarded my personal experience for the rhetoric of the nation.
Why did the US rank so poorly?
Since the United States was in many ways an outlier, we felt it was necessary to give additional commentary, context and statistics on why the US ranked second to last on our list.
Additionally, Lyric shares her perspective on raising our family of two young kids, Kingsley and Aurora, in the USA. She goes through all six categories and reflects on her experience of being a mother but also her experience growing up in America.
Here are her thoughts:
The first time I looked at the data I was in disbelief. I thought there must be a mistake.
I know Americans are struggling, but how could the United States rank as the 34th best country to raise a family in 2020?
I said, “We have to check. We need to crunch the numbers again.” We did. The data was undeniably correct.
This led me into a deep personal reflection. Would my anecdotal experience, growing up and raising two children in the US, remotely line up with the data?
I went one-by-one into each of the six categories. What I discovered, in many instances, was quite shocking. I had experienced trauma or notable challenges in each category.
In “Safety” alone, I experienced two violent incidents before I turned 20: one school shooting and one student homicide in my college cafeteria.
This study has been eye-opening for me. Even as a well educated, thoughtful individual, I had become so numb to the country’s inadequacies that I must have simply disregarded my personal experience for the rhetoric of the nation.
Below you’ll find an elaboration on the most pertinent US raw data, additional important related statistics, plus my anecdotal experience growing up and raising a family here in the USA. Be sure to check out the “Click to expand” sections to see the my full write-up for each category.
Visit the Asher and Lyric website for full analysis of raising a family