The top 10 best countries to raise children in 2018

If you're thinking about becoming a parent soon or have a little one on the way, the best place to raise a kid in 2018 is Denmark, according to the U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Countries" rankings. Sweden previously held the top spot on the list for two years.

In order to help people understand how nations are perceived on a global scale, over 21,000 respondents evaluated 80 countries by ranking them according to 65 attributes. Among those were economic influence, power, citizenship and quality of life, which collectively helped determine each country's success as a modern nation. 

To determine which countries were the best to raise kids in, researchers looked at the following eight attributes: care for human rights, family-friendly, gender equality, happiness, income equality, level of safety, well-developed public education system and well-developed health care system.

"Parental leave policies are not directly factored into this ranking, but the countries that came out on top, including Denmark and Sweden, tend to have some of the most generous," U.S. News & World data editor Deidre McPhillips tells CNBC Make It.

The rankings are part of an analysis project called the 2018 Best Countries Report, conducted now for three years by the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and global consumer insights firm Y&R's BAV Group.

"The Best Countries report speaks to the effect a nation's brand can have on its economic prosperity and perceived standing in the world," Wharton professor of marketing David Reibstein said in a statement.

Here are the top 10 best countries to raise children as detailed in the 2018 U.S. News & World Report:

Also in the top 10 best countries for: best countries to headquarter a corporation,  transparency.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: cultural influence, most modern, quality of life, most-forward looking, best countries to headquarter a corporation, retiring comfortably, traveling alone, green living, investing in, education, women, best countries overall.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: traveling alone, adventure, retiring comfortably, most modern, quality of life.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly, cultural influence, most modern, entrepreneurship, quality of life, starting a business, most forward-looking countries, headquartering a corporation, entrepreneurs, transparency, green living, education, retiring comfortably, women, best countries overall.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly, entrepreneurs, most modern, quality of life, best countries to headquarter a corporation, traveling alone, most transparent countries, green living, women, best countries overall.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly, entrepreneurs, most modern, entrepreneurship, quality of life, retiring comfortably, starting a business, most forward-looking countries, headquartering a corporation, transparency, green living, education, women, best countries overall.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly,  green living, women, transparency, most modern, quality of life.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly, quality of life, green living, transparency, entrepreneurs, women, most modern.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: most business-friendly, cultural influence, most modern, entrepreneurship, quality of life, retiring comfortably, best countries to headquarter a corporation, entrepreneurs, transparency, green living, education, women, best countries overall.

Also in the top 10 best countries for: education, quality of life, women, most modern, most business-friendly, headquartering a corporation, transparency, green living.

As companies such as Amazon and Facebook have become increasingly vocal — albeit slowly — on issues such as parental leave and equal pay, it's also worth looking into which companies provide the most generous benefits for parents.

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Video produced by Luqman Adeniyi