NZ good for mums

New Zealand was the fourth-best country in the world for mothers, according to a new report from the US-based Save the Children published in the Dominion Post (via Stuff):

Sweden took first place, followed by Iceland and Norway. New Zealand tied for fourth with Australia and Denmark. Finland, Belgium, Spain and Germany rounded out the top 10.

All of which is good news, but New Zealand also ranks 20th out of the 43 most developed countries for child well-being, the article says:

The death rate for children under five years was six per 1000 live births, putting New Zealand in a better position than Australia, Canada, and the US, but worse off than Britain, Japan and the Scandinavian countries.

Clearly there’s room for improvement, but considering that New Zealand is doing better than Australia, Canada, and the US, there’s hope for achieving improvement. All up, the statistics show that ordinary life in New Zealand is pretty good.