The UK has the 8th best public family policy, according to new study
The UK has the 8th best public family policy in the world, according to a new study.
The study by confused.com analysed OECD data to reveal how the UK’s ‘typical’ family unit compares to the rest of the world.
| Rank | Country | Public spending on family benefits (% of GDP) | Public spending on education* (% of GDP) | Total family benefits for a two-child, single-parent family (% of earnings) | Public spending on early childhood education & care | Family policy score /10 |
| 1 | Norway | 3.35% | 4.70% | 12.90% | 1.40% | 8.15 |
| 2 | Sweden | 3.40% | 4.00% | 14.40% | 1.60% | 8.07 |
| 3 | Iceland | 3.27% | 4.60% | 8.40% | 1.80% | 7.58 |
| 4 | Denmark | 3.40% | 3.40% | 17.00% | 1.30% | 7.50 |
| 4 | France | 3.60% | 3.70% | 12.60% | 1.30% | 7.50 |
| 6 | Finland | 2.87% | 3.60% | 16.90% | 1.10% | 6.94 |
| 7 | New Zealand | 2.46% | 4.50% | 13.70% | 1.00% | 6.69 |
| 8 | United Kingdom | 3.23% | 4.10% | 18.40% | 0.60% | 6.61 |
| 9 | Belgium | 3.15% | 4.10% | 10.50% | 0.80% | 6.21 |
| 10 | Germany | 3.17% | 3.00% | 29.00% | 0.70% | 6.13 |
Ranking each country on a number of government policies, such as spending on family benefits and education, the UK ranks in 8th position, with a score of 6.6/10.
It’s Norway that comes out on top. Norway spends 4.8% of its GDP on education, second only to Israel, with other benefits including free healthcare and access to public schools and higher education.
However, it’s the Republic of Ireland that fares the worst when compared to these same factors. Ireland is the second-worst when it comes to spending on both education (2.3%) and early education and care (0.3%).
Further Study Insights:
- The average family size in the UK is 2.30 children, compared to 2.49 globally. Mexico has the highest average family size (3.93), whilst Sweden has the lowest at (1.80).
- 50.77% of households in the UK are couple households, compared to 53.03% globally. Israel sees the most couple households (66.60%), whilst Latvia sees the least (39.38%).
- 48.2% of births in the UK take place outside of marriage, compared to 40.35% globally. Chile sees the most births outside of marriage (73.70%), whilst South Korea sees the least (2.20%).
- 74.20% of UK mothers are in work, compared to 70.58% globally. Iceland has the highest maternal employment rate (86.70%), whilst Turkey has the lowest (30%).
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