While France is at the top of the 2011 Raising Children Abroad league table, Australia is ranked the number one destination for expat children in terms of their health and wellbeing, taking over the top spot from Spain.
Expats here state that their children are spending much more time outdoors since relocating, with 75% reporting this to be true compared to just 53% in France and 47% overall.
Children in Australia are also much more active than elsewhere, with 81% of expats suggesting that their children were playing more sports since moving to Australia than in their home country. These figures are again much higher than both France (47%) and the overall global average (46%).
Countries which are ranked near the bottom of the overall Raising Children Abroad league table such as the UAE (7th) and the UK (10th) don't perform as well when it comes to health and wellbeing. Here children are less likely to be spending more time outside (29% and 37% respectively) and playing more sport (38% and 34% respectively).
In contrast, children in the UAE and UK are more likely to be spending more time playing video games (both 48%) and watching TV (49% and 37% respectively) than average (37% and 29%). Just 16% of expat parents in Australia and 19% of expat parents in France think that their children watch more TV since relocating.
Despite its high ranking on health and wellbeing, expats in Australia are the least likely to suggest their children have a global outlook, with only 63% agreeing with this in comparison to 81% overall. Expats in the USA were the most likely to agree with this statement (94%).
Despite being near the bottom of the overall Raising Children Abroad league table (9th), the USA actually scores quite highly in terms of health and wellbeing (4th). In addition, 87% of expats in the USA suggest their children have adapted well since relocating compared to a global average of 82%. As a result it's not surprising that 89% of expats in the USA believe their children are enjoying life in their new country.
