I have one DD (2.7 yrs)
Decision-making process and childcare arrangements
I felt quite strongly that I wanted my child to be cared for at home when small, and didn't feel that group care was appropriate for at least an under 1 yr old. DH felt the same.
What we ended up deciding is that I would work 3 days a week and have DD for 2 days, DH would work 3 days a week and have DD for 2 days, and my mother would look after her on the one day we both worked.
Fortunately we were able to make a choice based on what we believed would be best for DD rather than financial constraints. This isn't because we earned a whole lot of money at the time of DD's birth, rather, it was actually the opposite - for much of his 20s, DH was either doing his first degree, then a Masters, then a PhD (supported by a research grant), then a number of part-time academic jobs (which paid a pittance), and then training to be a secondary teacher. Then DH looked for, and found his first teaching job as a part-time (starting near the bottom of the teachers' payscale). I had a steady career and was gradually earning more and more, but the switch to part-time for both of us wasn't as crippling financially than it would have been had we both had high-paying careers, and a high-costing lifestyle. DH earns more as a part-time school teacher than he did as an almost-full-time academic.
We would have actually earned more money had I worked full-time and put DD in a nursery, but as our expenditure was matched to the years when DH hardly earnt anything, we were able to make the choice to work part-time. Almost all of DH's current salary would go on childcare, so from a purely finanical point of view, there's not much point him working fulltime
I was also very lucky to work for an employer (central government) where I was able to find a job-share role at the same level as my previous full-time roles.
Positives
I am so happy that we chose (and were able to choose) this arrangment. It works really well for us as a family. DH is a great father and DD really benefits from being parented by him as well as me. We don't have any of the stress which comes with nurseries / childminders (eg whether you are back in time for closing, with a nursery, or what to do if your childminder is sick / on holiday etc etc). I really think DD is thriving with this arrangement. We still ensure she gets plenty of contact with other children and different experiences - in fact more than if she were in the same nursery building for 10 hours a day. As a family, we have a lovely work-life balance. Weekends are generally family-time, rather than a time when you have to catch up on chores / the weekly shop etc etc (mostly!).
Negatives
We don't have the most money at the moment, and we would have more if I worked fulltime (even taking into account the cost of nurseries). But the advantages far outweigh this disadvantage to us; we can still make ends meet.
Other things
I don't have any experience of being abroad to compare this to.
Hope this helps - are there any specific aspects you are interested in? (apart from the comparison across countries?)