Israel 26th best place in OECD to raise family

Country earns C overall, receives F for safety, education • Top 5: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg

The travel website Asher & Lyric on Tuesday released a list ranking the best OECD countries in which to raise a family, with Israel listed as No. 26.

The top-five listed countries are Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Luxembourg.

“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 No. 1 spot on the list,” Asher & Lyric wrote in their review. “Iceland achieved top-10 rankings in all categories and was No. 1 in safety.”

The rankings were based on six categories consisting of 30 different factors – including safety, happiness, cost, health, education and time off given from work – compiled from various recognized NGO indexes, polls and publicized government statistics, as well as OECD data such as Gallup polls, the Global Peace Index, the Human Freedom Index, the

World Happiness Index and recognized organizations such as the CIA, UNICEF, etc.

Iceland ranked highest in safety, Denmark won the happiness category, Sweden was the least expensive, Finland’s healthcare system is the best, Slovenia boasts the most well-educated citizens and Luxembourg allows the most time off from work, whether for sick leave or maternity leave.

Israel ranked 26th on the list out of the 35 ranked countries, earning an overall letter grade of C. This is in part due to Israel receiving an F for both safety and education – with Israel being ranked the fourth worst in safety and second worst in education behind Mexico.

“Out of the 35 countries that were included in our analysis, Mexico ranked the worst for raising a family,” said Asher & Lyric. “Mexico earned grades of F in all six categories that we reviewed. The US was not that far behind Mexico with the worst rankings for both cost and time.” America was the second worst overall, after Mexico.

Safety rankings are based on the homicide rate per 100,000 people; the Law and Order index, which ranks people’s sense of security; the Global Peace Index, which takes into account ongoing regional conflicts; the number of school shootings per year, which is zero in Israel; and human rights scores in which Israel possesses a negative rating.

The education rankings were compiled using the enrollment rate among students from high school until college as well as the reading, math and science proficiency ratings among 15-year-olds who were raised in the country.

The list states that only 21.5% of Israelis apply to college following their military or national service, which would be around the age of 20-21. According to the data, only two-thirds of students remain enrolled in high school through graduation – and the educational proficiency of those students who stay is under par compared to other OECD countries.