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UN ranks Denmark as fourth most developed country

Daniel Deleuran
January 13th, 2016


This article is more than 8 years old.

Nation spent the last year moving up in the world

Denmark is one of the most developed countries in the world, according to the UN’s annual Human Development Report.

The UN Development Programme ranked Denmark in fourth place – a huge jump from last year in which Denmark was placed tenth.

The top three – Switzerland, Australia and Norway – were unchanged. Completing the top ten were the Netherlands, Germany, Ireland, the US, Canada and New Zealand.

Explaining a six-place leap
The Human Development Report (here) covers a wide range of categories, so it might not be initially obvious how Denmark has climbed six places.

The average life expectancy of the Danish population has risen from 79.4 to 80.2, the average length of education a student is expected to receive has risen from 17 to 18.7 years, and the gross national income per capita in Denmark has risen by 14,000 kroner.

 


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”