Daily Headline – 07/05/13

Under-5 children in the US 3 times more likely to die than in Iceland

Save the Children has released its annual report on mothers and children. The report looks at the likelihood of death in pregnancy or labor as well as the difficulties women face when they become mothers, comparing country to country.

The US sits at a predictably low 30th with the report stating:

“A woman in the U.S. is more than 10 times as likely as a woman in Estonia, Greece or Singapore to eventually die from a pregnancy related cause.”

“In the United States, the under-5 mortality rate is 7.5 per 1,000 live births. This is roughly on par with rates in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Qatar and Slovakia. At this rate, children in the U.S. are three times as likely as children in Iceland to die before their 5th birthday.”

The top 9 best countries are of course all European states with Australia rounding off the top 10:

1) Finland
2) Sweden
3) Norway
4) Iceland
5) Netherlands
6) Denmark
7) Spain
8) Belgium
9) Germany
10) Australia

Turkey and Romania are the let downs of Europe coming in at 60th & 61st respectively.

Other notable countries are:

23) UK
30) US
33) Cuba
59) Russia
68) China
176) DR Congo (last)

Full list can be found here.