These countries are the best for their new parents

Currently, I am surrounded by quite a baby boom. I have become an aunt for the first time, my best friend is pregnant with her second, another just gave birth, and another just found out it's a boy. Babies everywhere, and for some, it's already the second round. Not for me, though. I am always amazed at how all of this works and especially how long it actually takes before you get a bit close to a new kind of rhythm. Everything is new. Suddenly, there is a little bundle that you have to take care of, which, with a bit of bad luck, doesn't sleep a wink, and you end up being more of a walking zombie than a radiant mother. And then you might still have the father, who has to go back to work after a few days. Tough times indeed.

But what I find most striking is how much this differs in countries. In the Netherlands, paternity leave was also arranged very differently before 2020, as it was only then that it was introduced that the father can receive a maximum of five weekends of additional parental leave. He doesn't get a salary, but a benefit from the UWV. However, if you look at Finland, for example, parents there get a total of 101 weeks of leave. That's just over THREE years. The average cost of childcare there is €380 per month; that's quite a difference from what I hear around me here in Amsterdam.

William Russell researched this: which country (and a specific city) is the best for new parents? And if you think it can't get better than Norway, it doesn't even rank number one.

The first place goes to Iceland. In Reykjavik, parents get a year, 52 weeks, of leave, and the average cost for childcare is €312 per month. They score a 7.5 on the Pregnancy-Friendly scale.

Number two is Oslo, Norway: there you get 101 weeks of leave and the costs are €321. Finland ranks third, which I find striking: with over three years of leave, you should definitely be at a solid number one. If that much leave sounds good to you, you can also head to Seoul (South Korea) or Kyoto (Japan): there you get 117.5 and 110 weeks of leave, respectively. If you prefer the cheapest childcare, then Stockholm in Sweden is your dream place to live: the average is €128 per month. Definitely worth considering...

Source: William Russell