How Countries Leading on Early Years of Child Care Get It Right

The quality and cost of early-years child care have important implications for a nation, from the size of its economy to the performance of students in high school and university. One of the most significant payoffs of a successful child-care system is higher female workforce participation. Conversely, mothers’ careers bear the brunt of inadequate child-care or parental-leave policies. In the UK, the unaffordable cost of child care has women increasingly leaving the labor force and is emerging as a major political issue.

Here are some of the countries that are getting early-years care right: