As part of the 2012 State of the World’s Mothers report, Save the Children has released their 13th annual Mothers’ Index. Of the 165 countries surveyed, Norway, Iceland and Sweden top the rankings this year. The top 10 countries, in general, attain very high scores for mother and child health, educational attainment and economic status. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Niger ranks last. The 10 bottom-ranked countries — eight from sub-Saharan Africa -– are a reverse image of the top 10, performing poorly on all indicators. The United States places 25th this year –- up six spots from last year.
