Czech Republic ranked among world's 10 best countries to raise a family

The Czech Republic scored high for safety but low for happiness in Ashley & Lyric's Raising a Family index

Raymond Johnston

Written by Raymond Johnston Published on 31.07.2020 11:34:00 (updated on 07.12.2021) Reading time: 2 minutes

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Family enjoying an sunset walk in the Czech countryside via iStock / Chalabala
Family enjoying an sunset walk in the Czech countryside via iStock / Chalabala

The Czech Republic has been ranked as the 10th best place in the world to raise a family.

Not surprisingly to people who follow surveys of this type, countries in Northern Europe dominated the head of the list, and the first 13 countries were all in Europe. Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg made up the top five, getting an overall A+.

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At the bottom of the list were the United States and Mexico, in 34th and 35th place respectively, the only two countries to garner an F.

The Raising a Family Index was compiled by travel site Ashley & Lyric, based on data from 30 sources. It compared 35 countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in six categories: safety, happiness, cost, health, education and time.

The Czech Republic scored best in safety, getting an A, and did worst in happiness, with a D. It scored B in all the other categories. Overall the country earned a B+. The survey uses country averages, so some cities or regions may be better and others worse in particular areas.

Neighboring Slovakia didn’t do nearly as well, coming in 27th place, while Poland was 20th. Slovakia did poorly in happiness, with a D, had a D+ in cost, and D- in both health and time. Poland earned a D- in happiness and D in both cost and health.

On the other hand, neighboring Germany was in seventh place and Austria was in eighth place. Germany’s lowest grade was a C in health. Austria had a C in both health and education. Both countries had As or Bs in all other categories.

One factor in the safety ranking was the Global Peace Index, where the Czech Republic came in eighth out of 63 countries due to its low levels of crime, homicide and internal conflict, as well as relatively difficult access to weapons. The safety ranking also looked at human rights, law and order. and specific crime rates for homicide and the number of school shootings.

Happiness looked at the World Happiness Index, where the Czech Republic came in 20th place in 2019. It was 19th in 2020, but the Raising a Family Index used the 2019 figures. Other sources used in the Raising a Family Index included the Human Freedom Index, where the country came in 21st. The suicide rate, family income, and LGBTQ+ adoption recognition were also factors.

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The cost category factored in cost of living and how much household income went to childcare, education and health care. Public spending went toward families was also taken into account.

Health took into account access to family planning, overall life expectancy, maternal death at childbirth, live expectancy for children, and various factors related to pollution.

Education examined the level of school enrollment, and performance in math, reading and science. The time category covers sick leave, maternity and paternity leave, paid vacation, and number of full-time hours worked.

Raising a Family Index

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

Source: Ashely & Lyric

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