Expanded Index Now Includes 18 Additional Industrialized Countries
 
Sweden tops list, Niger ranks last, United States ranks 26th, tied with Hungary
 
Westport, Conn. (Tuesday, May 8, 2007) — Save the Children, a U.S.-based independent global humanitarian organization, today released its eighth annual Mothers’ Index that ranks the best — and worst — places to be a mother and a child and compares the well-being of mothers and children in 140 countries, more than in any previous year.

Sweden, Iceland and Norway top the rankings this year. Niger ranks last among countries surveyed. The top-10 countries, in general, attain very high scores for mothers’ and children’s health, educational and economic status. The 10 bottom-ranked countries — nine from sub-Saharan Africa — are a reverse image of the top 10, performing poorly on all indicators. The United States places 26th this year, tied with Hungary.

Conditions for mothers and their children in countries at the bottom of the Index are grim. On average, 1 in 13 mothers will die in her lifetime from pregnancy-related causes. Nearly 1 in 5 children dies before her fifth birthday, and more than 1 in 3 children suffers from malnutrition. About 50 percent of the population lacks access to safe water, and only 3 girls for every 4 boys are enrolled in primary school.

“If 75 years of field experience have taught us anything, it is that the quality of children’s lives depends on the health, security and well-being of their mothers,” said Charles MacCormack, president and CEO of Save the Children. “By providing mothers access to education, economic opportunities, and maternal and child health care, we ensure that mothers and their children will have the best chance to survive and thrive,” he said.

The gap in availability of maternal and child health services is especially striking when comparing Sweden, at the top of the list, and Niger, at the bottom. Skilled health personnel are present at virtually every birth in Sweden, while only 16 percent of births are attended in Niger. A typical Swedish woman has almost 17 years of formal education and will live to be 83. Meanwhile, 72 percent of Swedish women use some modern method of contraception, and only 1 in 150 will lose a child before he or she has a fifth birthday. In Niger, a typical woman has less than three years of education and the life expectancy of a girl born today is only 45. Only 4 percent of women use modern contraception, and 1 child in 4 never sees a fifth birthday. At this rate, every mother is likely to suffer the loss of two children.

Zeroing in on the children’s well-being portion of the Mothers’ Index, Italy finishes first and Afghanistan ties with Niger for last. While nearly every Italian child — girls and boys alike — enjoys good health and education, children in Afghanistan face a 1 in 4 risk of dying before age 5. In Afghanistan and Niger, 40 percent of children are malnourished. In Niger, less than 50 percent of children are enrolled in primary school, and only one Afghan girl for every two boys is in school. More than half of all children in both countries lack access to safe water.

“Investing in the health of mothers everywhere is not just the right thing to do — it is the smart thing to do,” urged MacCormack. “When we take care of mothers by ensuring that they have the basic tools they need to improve the quality of life for themselves and their children, we also improve prospects for generations to come. When mothers thrive, their children grow up healthy and, ultimately, all of society benefits,” he added.

COUNTRY COMPARISONS:
The Mothers’ Index presents individual country comparisons for poor countries that are especially startling when one considers the human suffering behind the statistics:

• Over the course of her lifetime, 1 woman in 7 will die in pregnancy or childbirth in Angola, Malawi and Niger; the risk is 1 in 6 in Afghanistan and Sierra Leone.
• A girl born in Angola, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe on average will live 45 years. Life expectancy for women is only 35 in Lesotho, 33 in Botswana, and for a girl born in Swaziland, only 30 years due to the sheer proportions of children who die before age 5 and the additional scourge of AIDS which is killing many women in their prime.
• 1 child in 4 does not reach his or her fifth birthday in Afghanistan, Angola, Niger and Sierra Leone.
• Fewer than 15 percent of births are attended by skilled health personnel in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Chad, Ethiopia and Nepal.
• In Djibuti and Niger, a typical female has less than 3.5 years of schooling and fewer than half of all children are enrolled in primary school.
• More than 60 percent of the population of Afghanistan and Papua New Guinea lacks access to safe drinking water, and more than 70 percent lack access to safe water in Ethiopia and Somalia.

NOTE: The Mothers’ Index was restructured for 2007 and is based on improved indicators to rank countries more precisely relative to their level of development. As a result of these changes, the agency is now able to calculate rankings for 18 additional industrialized countries, including Italy, Spain and France. 

KEY INDICATORS:
The status of mothers was compared in 140 countries based on the following indicators of women’s and children’s well-being:

• 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;
• Ratio of estimated female-to-male earned income;
• Maternity leave benefits;
• Participation of women in national government;
• Under-5 mortality rate;
• Percentage of children under age 5 moderately or severely underweight;
• School enrollment ratios;
• Ratio of girls to boys enrolled in primary school and;
• Percentage of population with access to safe water.

View the 2007 Mothers' Index online in PDF format.

See special features from the report.

For more information, contact Save the Children at (202) 261-4686.