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Work life: Top 15 Asian countries to be a parent

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When it comes to raising a child, taking into account things that matter to the parents - such as maternity and paternity time off as well as job protection for mothers through maternity leave - matter as much as things that are beneficial to the children.

Taking into account employment and the workplace, health and safety, and finances and lifestyle, Money Guru's global parenting index placed Singapore as the most ideal place to be a parent and raise a child in Asia, and the fourth best place globally.

This was followed by Israel and Japan, ranking 13th and 17th globally respectively. While Thailand (22nd globally) and Qatar (24th globally) rounded up the top five in Asia.

Malaysia came in 8th in Asia (31st globally), China came in 11th in Asia (40th globally), and the Philippines came in 12th in Asia (41st globally).

Top 15 countries to be a parent in Asia

#1 Singapore

  • Global rank: 4
  • Total score: 647
  • Maternity time off: Less than 14 weeks
  • Paternity time off: Less than 3 weeks
  • Gender pay gap: 65
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: US$54,530.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 4.89%

#2 Israel

  • Global rank: 13
  • Total score: 541
  • Maternity time off: 14 - 25.9 weeks
  • Paternity time off: 3 - 13 weeks
  • Gender pay gap: 44
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: Paid leave for both parents
  • Average annual income / household income: US$37,270.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 12.46%

#3 Japan

  • Global rank: 17
  • Total score: 528
  • Maternity time off: 52 weeks or more
  • Paternity time off: 14 weeks or more
  • Gender pay gap: 114
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: Unpaid leave for both parents
  • Average annual income / household income: US$38,550.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 17.99%

#4 Thailand

  • Global rank: 22
  • Total score: 497
  • Maternity time off: Less than 14 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No paid leave
  • Gender pay gap: 75
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: US$5,960.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 29.69%

#5 Qatar

  • Global rank: 24
  • Total score: 487
  • Maternity time off: Less than 14 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No paid leave
  • Gender pay gap: 130
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: No data available
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 2.62%

#6 Kuwait

  • Global rank: 29
  • Total score: 458
  • Maternity time off: Less than 14 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No paid leave
  • Gender pay gap: 129
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: Only available to mothers
  • Average annual income / household income: No data available
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 4.38%

#7 Republic of Korea (South Korea)

  • Global rank: 30
  • Total score: 454
  • Maternity time off: 52 weeks or more
  • Paternity time off: 14 weeks or more
  • Gender pay gap: 118
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: Unpaid leave for both parents
  • Average annual income / household income: US$28,380.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 11.72%

#8 Malaysia

  • Global rank: 31
  • Total score: 447
  • Maternity time off: Less than 14 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No paid leave
  • Gender pay gap: 104
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: US$9,650.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 13.98%

#9 Kazakhstan

  • Global rank: 36
  • Total score: 436
  • Maternity time off: 14 - 25.9 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No paid leave
  • Gender pay gap: 52
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: US$7,890.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 16.27%

#10 Vietnam

  • Global rank: 37
  • Total score: 434
  • Maternity time off: 26 - 51.9 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No paid leave
  • Gender pay gap: 69
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: Paid leave for both parents
  • Average annual income / household income: US$2,170.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 72.12%

#11 China

  • Global rank: 40
  • Total score: 432
  • Maternity time off: 14 - 25.9 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No paid leave
  • Gender pay gap: 100
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: US$8,690.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 27.78%

#12 The Philippines

  • Global rank: 41
  • Total score: 431
  • Maternity time off: Less than 14 weeks
  • Paternity time off: Less than 3 weeks
  • Gender pay gap: 10
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: US$3,660.00
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 49.06%

#13 Laos

  • Global rank: 42
  • Total score: 429
  • Maternity time off: 14 - 25.9 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No data available
  • Gender pay gap: 64
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: No data available
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: No data available

#14 Bahrain

  • Global rank: 49
  • Total score: 416
  • Maternity time off: Less than 14 weeks
  • Paternity time off: Less than 3 weeks
  • Gender pay gap: 126
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: No leave
  • Average annual income / household income: No data available
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 10.95%

#15 Cambodia

  • Global rank: 50
  • Total score: 411
  • Maternity time off: Less than 14 weeks
  • Paternity time off: No paid leave
  • Gender pay gap: 99
  • Job protection for mothers throughout maternity leave: Job protection guaranteed throughout
  • Parental leave for a child's everyday health needs: Paid leave for both parents
  • Average annual income / household income: No data available
  • Percentage of average annual wage spent on food for a family of four: 125.28%

Top 25 countries to be a parent globally

 


Methodology

Money Guru's data was compiled from a number of sources to create a score per country. Points were allocated to each country - from 0 to 193 (the total number of countries) - based on the following criteria:

  • Maternity and paternity time off
  • Gender pay gap
  • Job protection through maternity
  • Unemployment rate
  • Quality of education
  • Benefits available for childcare and school costs
  • Financial assistance for low income families (2 pre-school aged children)
  • Average annual income
  • Percentage of annual wage spent on food (family of 4)
  • Parental leave for child’s everyday health needs
  • Average number of children per woman (2015) (no score given as this skewed the data massively and can be attributed in large part to cultural difference.)

In the event that no data was available for a specific area of focus, the country was assigned ‘0’ for that section. The higher the score, the better the overall total. The countries were then ranked top to bottom by this overall score.


Infographic / Money Guru Photo / 123RF

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