Top five places to be a woman in the Americas

When Newsweek/The Daily Beast ranked “The Best and Worst Places for Women” in September of last year, the list provided few surprises. Scandinavian countries — including perennial winners Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland — took four of the top five slots.

For International Women’s Day, SmartPlanet took a second look the rankings, paying particular attention to what they mean for residents on this side of the Atlantic. This reshuffled top five, which features countries like the Bahamas, is far from a list of the usual suspects:

Canada
Global ranking: 3
Overall score (out of 100): 96.6
Justice: 100.0
Health: 92.7
Education: 92.0
Economics: 91.0
Politics: 66.9

The United States of America
Global ranking: 8
Overall score (out of 100): 89.8
Justice: 82.9
Health: 92.8
Education: 97.3
Economics: 83.9
Politics: 68.6

Trinidad and Tobago
Global ranking: 26
Overall score (out of 100): 84.1
Justice: 83.5
Health: 70.0
Education: 96.8
Economics: 80.6
Politics: 80.1

Costa Rica
Global ranking: 36
Overall score (out of 100): 81.0
Justice: 74.2
Health: 71.6
Education: 96.1
Economics: 83.4
Politics: 66.6

The Bahamas
Global ranking: 39
Overall score (out of 100): 80.2
Justice: 73.1
Health: 67.8
Education: 94.3
Economics: 91.2
Politics: 45.4

[Newsweek/Daily Beast]

Photos: Hub Figuiere/Flickr, Kev Gilmour/Flickr, neiljs/Flickr, John/Flickr, and Laura/Flickr