http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/24/travel...iref=obnetwork
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With 40% of its babies born out of wedlock, America sits near the middle of the global pack in this category. Conservative Turkey brings up the rear with a scant 3%.
And the nation at the top of the list? The world leader in single moms?
Iceland.
More than two-thirds of Icelandic babies -- 67% -- are born to parents who are not married.
This might be a shameful distinction in many spots around the world. In the land of the Vikings, it is a point of pride.
The island may have been settled by marauding brutes, but it is now the most feminist society on the planet.
"You have this horrible term in English, 'broken families,' " Bryndis Asmundottir says over coffee. "Which basically means just if you get divorced, then something's broken. But that's not the way it is in Iceland at all. We live in such a small and secure environment, and the women have so much freedom. So you can just choose your life."
Bryndis has three kids with two partners and not a drop of shame or regret. She explains that since few Icelanders are religious, there is no moral stigma attached to unwed pregnancy. And her country guarantees some of the most generous parental leave in the world: nine months at 80% pay.
"We think diamonds are evil," Bryndis says with a laugh.
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With 40% of its babies born out of wedlock, America sits near the middle of the global pack in this category. Conservative Turkey brings up the rear with a scant 3%.
And the nation at the top of the list? The world leader in single moms?
Iceland.
More than two-thirds of Icelandic babies -- 67% -- are born to parents who are not married.
This might be a shameful distinction in many spots around the world. In the land of the Vikings, it is a point of pride.
The island may have been settled by marauding brutes, but it is now the most feminist society on the planet.
"You have this horrible term in English, 'broken families,' " Bryndis Asmundottir says over coffee. "Which basically means just if you get divorced, then something's broken. But that's not the way it is in Iceland at all. We live in such a small and secure environment, and the women have so much freedom. So you can just choose your life."
Bryndis has three kids with two partners and not a drop of shame or regret. She explains that since few Icelanders are religious, there is no moral stigma attached to unwed pregnancy. And her country guarantees some of the most generous parental leave in the world: nine months at 80% pay.
"We think diamonds are evil," Bryndis says with a laugh.
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