Save the Children has released a “women’s index” that details the best and worst countries in the world to be a woman. The index accounts for 165 countries and is divided into three categories - more developed countries, less developed countries and least developed countries, and it incorporates five criteria for placement, including percentage of women using modern contraception and life expectancy at birth. The other three factors taken into consideration are expected number of years in school, percentage of government seats held by women and ratio of female to male income earned.
The United States ranks 19th on the list overall under the category “more developed countries.” It follows the U.K., Spain, France, Germany and Canada and lands ahead of Switzerland, Greece, Italy and Japan. Norway ranks No. 1 among more developed countries.
The United States ties with Norway and Slovenia for fourth in regard to number of years women attend school, with 18 years of education expected.
However, it fell behind all but nine of the 44 more developed countries in the area of percentage of government seats held by women. Whereas the average for government seats occupied women in developed countries is 24 percent, the United States trails behind with only 17 percent of its seats occupied by women.
Israel, Barbados and Cuba top the list of less developed countries, with Turkmenistan, Iraq and North Korea bringing up the rear.
The least developed countries list showed Bhutan, Solomon Island and Malawi as the most favorable towards women, however, only 31 percent of women in Bhutan use birth control, and women in the country make 39 cents to a man's dollar, on average. Somalia came up last on the list with only one percent of women using modern birth control and women averaging two year total in school.
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