What countries provide the best atmosphere to raise a child?

Introduction

We were interested in which country it would be best to raise children. We took data of poverty rates, mortality rates, and educations rates and when comparing the data, we concluded that the following seven countries were best fit: Chile, Denmark, Lithuania, Malaysia, Norway, Switzerland, and the United States. We used the lowest 50 countries for percent poverty and morality rate and the highest 50 countries for percent education rate, which showed where there was the least amount of deaths and poverty, and the best education. We believe this topic is important because children are the future and it’s important they have access to proper education and healthcare. Not enough children get the privilege of education and thus don’t get the same opportunities later in life.

Criteria 

We decided that the three most important criteria for determining the well-being of children around the world are:

• Lowest infant mortality
• Highest percentage of government budget spent on education
• Lowest amount of people living in poverty

Methods

We uploaded data from the UN data website about infant mortality, education budget and poverty. We then selected by attributes the countries with the lowest infant mortality, lowest poverty and highest education budget. For each of the three layers we produced a map showing the best 50 countries. From those three layers we found which countries were common among all three fields. We then took those countries and produced a map displaying them. 

Results

Infant Mortality

This map shows the countries with lower infant mortality rates in lighter colors and higher mortality rates in darker colors. It shows that North and South America, Europe and the Middle East have the lower mortality rates in the world.

50 Countries with the Lowest Infant Mortality Rates

When we selected the countries with the lowest mortality rates we found that North America, Western Europe, Australia, Japan, and Chile have the lowest mortality. These countries are fairly well known for their healthcare systems and other government programs. 

Percent of Government Budget Spent on Education

This map shows the percent of the nation budget that is allotted for primary education. The countries with green and yellow have the highest percentage of government budget spent on primary education while the countries in red spend little on primary education.

Top 50 with the Highest Budget for Education

The top 50 countries seem to be scattered around the world. We found it interesting that many African countries were included. Even though the countries have a low standard of living, they have a high percentage of money spent on primary education. But this is less total money than some the larger, more stable countries.

Percent of People Living Below the National Poverty Line

This map shows the percent of people in each country living below the national poverty line for each country. The countries in green have lower poverty rates, while those in dark blue have the highest poverty rates. 

50 Countries with the Lowest Poverty Level

Similar to infant mortality, North America, Europe and some of Asia are found to have the lowest poverty rates in the world. This suggests that poverty keeps people from adequate medical care and are more likely to have sick infants or difficult births.

7 Countries that are in the Top 50 for all Criteria

Our analysis produced seven countries that were in the best fifty for all three criteria. These countries have lower poverty and infant mortality rates and higher education expenditures than others in the world. All 7 of the following countries were in the best 50 for all three of our chosen criteria.

• Chile

      The economy of Chile is recognized as being a high income economy, with a GDP of around $277 billion. In the 1990's they had an unemployment rate of about 8%, but recently they have seen a monthly decline and are currently around 6%. The poverty rate has fallen from 45% to a remarkably 13% in just 20 years. 

  Chile sponsors multiple forms of school categories for primary schools. The primary form of schooling is state subsidized schools run by municipalities. This is where a big portion of education funds are used due to the large percentage (64%) of primary school students that attend these schools. Private schools funded by government subsidies are the next most popular option at 29%. Chile sponsors many government-funded programs to provide students with extra resources to supplement primary education. These include CORFO, FIMCE, SENCE, and more.  Statistics place 99.7% 6-14 year old's to be enrolled in primary education, and 88.7% for secondary education.

• Denmark
  

     Denmark has a strong economy with a poverty level around 4%. While this is still very low compared to some other countries, the country has seen the rates of families living in poverty double over the past 10 years. This is causing much concern for the government officials and citizens on Denmark. To combat the rise in poverty and unemployment they are hoping to initialize new programs in the next year to help people gain jobs and get back on their feet. 

Primary education is mandatory by law in Denmark and structured through a comprehensive school system that covers the first ten grade levels of education. The Ministry of Education is responsible for setting curriculum for these first ten levels of education and the government covers about 80% of the total costs of running educational institutions. More than 50% of these students continue on to higher education.

• Lithuania
  

     The country has seen a massive turnaround in the past 20 years. This small Baltic nation had a poverty rate of nearly 75% in 1990 to 4% in 2009. Once the country broke away from the USSR in 1990 they were able to increase minimum wage by 25% and begin exporting textiles, plastics and heavy machinery.

The education system in Lithuania requires children up to the age of 16 to attend primary schooling. Municipal general education schools. Vocational schools. And junior colleges are provided at no cost, and although pre-school education is not required, its cost is partially covered by government funding. Out of the total government expenditures, Lithuania spends nearly 13% on education. This covers public and private primary level institutions as well as administration. Although the total percentage has decreased over the years, it still remains high on a global scale.

• Malaysia

Since 1990 the Malaysian country has been seeking to achieve its objectives through rapid expansion of the economy to reduce poverty. To achieve this they have implemented more access to land among the people to provide more opportunity for land use, and jobs. They have also provided more training so that the workers are able to complete tasks with little to no error. In 1970 the overall poverty line was at an alarmingly high rate at 52% and the rural poverty was just as high peaking at 59%. But, for the past 30 years Malaysia has been focusing heavily on education and decreasing the disturbingly high poverty numbers. By 2004 the overall poverty fell to a comfortable 5% and the rural poverty went to 11%.

Malaysian education has drastically increased in the past 20 years. In 1996 the Ministry declared that schooling should be divided into preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary, or college, education. By law, primary education is compulsory and has a student teacher ratio of 13:1. In total Malaysia has a total of 95% of its students successfully attending and graduating from secondary education, these ages are ranging from 15-24.

• Norway

Norway has had a steadily low poverty rate for quite a while, however, from 2002-2010 the number of children in low-income families has risen from 5-8%. A veteran governor stated that “children who feel left out of activities enjoyed by other children can lead to them later dropping out of school." Measures are being carried out to reduce this number and Norway hopes that in the next 10 years they can be back down to a low poverty rate.

Education in Norway is mandatory for all children between the ages of 6-16. Norway has been known for their high graduation rate at an astonishing 99.9% of students finishing primary school and moving on to secondary education. Education in Norway dates as far back as medieval times where it was divided into three parts: Elementary which is ages 6-13, lower secondary which is ages 13-16, and then lower secondary school ranges from 16-19. No official grades are given in Elementary school, teacher’s just focus on giving their students the best education possible. This is an interesting technique, however with a 99.9% graduation rate it definitely seems to be a smart implementation. Students aren’t focusing on getting the best grades or comparing themselves amongst one another and therefore focusing more on the important part, learning.

• Switzerland
  

Many people know Switzerland as the world’s most stable country economically. In terms of rankings, Switzerland ranks within the top 10. Nevertheless, Switzerland still has a number of working poor ringing in at a low 3%. The country relies heavily on trade to have a prosperous economy and hopes that they will make their poverty numbers even smaller.

In Switzerland education is very diverse because the constitution delegates the authority for schooling primarily to the federal states. The minimum age for primary school is 6. Switzerland is different than other countries because after primary schooling, students split up into different groups according to their abilities and intentions of career paths. About 20% of students choose to attend secondary school and then move onto universities.

• United States

     Recently the U.S. has seen the economy crash, forcing the poverty level to rise to rates seen in the early 1960's. The poverty rate is approximately 16%, but among children the rate is hovering around 20%. Currently the U.S. is facing a harrowing situation where 1 in 4 kids are living in poverty. Through government programs and local charities, these poverty stricken areas are slowly recovering through food donations and programs to help provide family housing and improve schools.

The United States is often looked down upon when it comes to education, however, the country as a whole has a strong educational pass rate with 99% of all students getting through primary schools. Enrollment to secondary, and post secondary schooling is also relatively high with at least 85% graduating with a secondary degree (high school). Public education is universally available with control and funding coming from the state and federal government. The state governments set educational standards and tests for the public schools. The downfall to the United States educational system is that local communities fund the system and therefore the quality of materials, teachers, and education is reflective upon the community in which the students live. Lower income communities are not able to afford a quality education, even though the schooling is free, the quality is not necessarily up to par.

Project outline - What are the best countries to raise a child?

So many pieces of society come together to form good environment to raise healthy, intelligent children. We have decided to look at the infant mortality, poverty rates, and primary education to find the best countries to raise children.
To do this we will analyze the three sets of data and pull out the top 20% in each category and see which countries are in the top 20% for all categories. Once we narrow that data down we will see which countries are in the top 5-10 for the three categories, and hopefully we will have some countries who will stand out above all the rest as providing the best possible environment to raise a child.