Pakistan was ranked 72 among 75 less developed countries as the best places to be a mother, according to Save the Children's 10th annual Mothers' Index. In the same list, Sri Lanka ranks 54 and India 70. The global ranking is highlighted in the organisation's State of the World's Mothers 2009 report.
Which focuses on the link between investing in early learning opportunities for young children and success in school. In the overall global Mothers Index, Sweden ranks first in the world and Niger the last.
The Mothers' Index is based on an analysis of indicators of women's and children's health, educational, economic status and wellbeing. The top-10 countries, in general, have very high scores for mothers' and children's health, while the 10 bottom-ranked countries are a reverse image, performing poorly on all indicators. One child in 10 does not reach his or her fifth birthday in Pakistan. In Sweden, only 1 child in 333 dies before age 5.
Fewer than 39 percent of births are attended by skilled health personnel in Pakistan; 99 percent of births are attended by skilled health personnel in Sri Lanka. Female life expectancy in Pakistan is 66, 44 in Afghanistan, 67 in India and 76 in Sri Lanka. A typical woman in Pakistan has less than six years of schooling versus a typical woman in India who receives nine years and 12 years in Sri Lanka of formal education.-PR