MANILA—The Philippines has been chosen as one of the best countries in the world for raising family, Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella announced on Tuesday.
In a press briefing, Abella said the survey was conducted by InterNations, the world’s largest network for expatriates of people who live and work abroad, which was founded in 2007.
“The Philippines ranked number 17 in the list of best countries for raising a family,” Abella said.
According to the survey, the Philippines is also one of the best in the world for quality education and being a place that has a friendly attitude towards children.
“Accessible education is priority for the Duterte administration and the DepEd was given the highest increase of 31 percent in this year’s budget (PHP3.35 trillion),” Abella said.
Finland topped the survey with “no expat parent had anything negative to say about their children’s health, children’s safety or children’s well-being in Finland.”
The expats, 70 percent of them, also picked Finland for having “excellent” quality education.
Czech Republic made a huge leap from 14th to 2nd place after 74 percent of the expats agreed that education there is “easy to afford, although it did not reach the top spot due to the quality of education.”
Other countries in the list from top to 19th place include: Israel, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Taiwan, Belgium, Germany, France, Poland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, South Africa, Singapore, Mexico and South Korea