Here's what maternity leave looks like around the world

Katie Warren,Melissa WellsAug 16, 2023, 00:32 IST

Take a look at paid maternity leave in countries around the world.Hispanolistic/Getty Images

The amount of time off work a new mother will get varies wildly depending on where they live.
It varies from more than a year of paid time off in Bulgaria to no leave at all in the US.

In some places in the world, new mothers can take several months off work after giving birth — and they don't have to worry about money because they're getting paid.

Some countries pay mothers the same amount as the salary they were making before, while others offer a percentage of their former salary, starting at about 30% for developed countries.

Most developed nations pay new mothers at least half of their previous salary during their time off, according to a report by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, or the OECD, that studied maternity leave in 42 countries around the world. The OECD, a 35-member organization dedicated to democracy and the market economy, looked at policies in place as of April 2016.

On average, maternity leave in OECD countries lasts 18 weeks. Only one developed country — the United States — offers zero paid maternity leave.

Research shows that paid maternity leave is good for individuals, businesses, and the economy. A study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research found that it keeps women in the workforce and lowers their need for public assistance.

Here is a snapshot of paid maternity leave in 42 countries around the world, listed in alphabetical order.

Australia: 18 weeks

Australian mothers get the equivalent of 7.5 weeks off at full pay.f11photo/Shutterstock

Austria: 16 weeks

Austrian mothers get 16 weeks of completely paid maternity leave.Brian Kinney/Shutterstock

Belgium: 15 weeks

Belgian moms can also choose to take eight months of part-time leave instead.ilolab/Shutterstock

Bulgaria: 58.6 weeks

Bulgarian mothers are guaranteed more than a year of paid maternity leave.Nataliya Nazarova/Shutterstock

Canada: 17 weeks

The US's neighbor to the north offers new mothers 17 weeks off at 48.4% pay or 8.2 weeks at full-time pay.

Chile: 18 weeks

Chilean mothers get 18 weeks off, paid at their full salary.Jose Luis Stephens/Shutterstock

Costa Rica: 17.3 weeks

In Costa Rica, which is not an OECD member country, mothers are guaranteed 17.3 weeks of fully-paid maternity leave.

Croatia: 30 weeks

That's nearly seven months.Dreamer4787/Shutterstock

Cyprus: 18 weeks

Cyprus is not an OECD member.Oleksandr Savchuk/Shutterstock

Czech Republic: 28 weeks

The Czech Republic gives mothers more than half a year off.cge2010/Shutterstock

Denmark: 18 weeks

18 weeks is the average maternity leave in OECD countries.Wila_Photo/Shutterstock

Estonia: 20 weeks

That's two weeks longer than the OECD average.RossHelen/Shutterstock

Finland: 17.5 weeks

Scanrail1/Shutterstock

France: 16 weeks

Mothers in France get 16 weeks off after the birth of their baby, paid at an average of 94.2% of their previous salary. This equates to 15.1 weeks paid at a full-time rate.

But fewer French people are having babies, with the birth rate falling for the third year in a row in 2017, according to France 24.

Germany: 14 weeks

And Germans are having more babies than ever.S.Borisov/Shutterstock

Greece: 43 weeks

Greece provides mothers with 43 weeks off and pays them 54.2% of their previous salary, which comes out to 23.3 weeks with full-time pay.

Hungary: 24 weeks

Hungary's maternity leave policy seems great.Giantrabbit/Shutterstock

Iceland: 13 weeks

Icelandic moms get 13 partially-paid weeks off.Guitar photographer/Shutterstock

Ireland: 26 weeks

Irish moms are paid at a rate of 34% of their previous salary.Patryk Kosmider/Shutterstock

Israel: 14 weeks

In Israel, maternity leave is guaranteed for 14 weeks with 100% pay.

Israel had the highest birth rate out of any OECD country in 2016, according to the Times of Israel.

Italy: 21.7 weeks

Italian women are having fewer and fewer babies.Roman Sigaev/Shutterstock

Japan: 14 weeks

Birth rates and marriage rates are at a record low in Japan.r.nagy/Shutterstock

Korea: 12.9 weeks

South Korea is another country with a declining birth rate.nami chwang/Shutterstock

Latvia: 16 weeks

This Northern European country provides 16 weeks of maternity leave at a pay rate of 80%.

This would be 12.8 weeks at a full-time salary.

Lithuania: 18 weeks

Lithuania is not an OECD member country.Scanrail1/Shutterstock

Luxembourg: 16 weeks

This is two weeks less than the OECD average, but mothers are paid 100% of their previous salary.RossHelen/Shutterstock

Malta: 18 weeks

Malta moms get 18 weeks off for maternity leave and they're paid at 87% of their salary.

This would be 15.7 weeks if they were fully-paid.

Mexico: 12 weeks

Mexico assures its new mothers 12 weeks of maternity leave at a 100% pay rate.

Netherlands: 16 weeks

Maternity leave in the Netherlands usually starts between four and six weeks before the due date.S.Borisov/Shutterstock

New Zealand: 18 weeks

Currently, New Zealand offers new mothers up to 18 weeks of paid leave at 42% pay. That comes out to 7.7 weeks of full-time paid time off.

But according to CNN Money, New Zealand will increase paid time to 22 weeks this year.

Despite the allotted amount of time, New Zealand's pregnant Prime Minister, whose baby is due on June 17, 2018, will only take six weeks of maternity leave, according to The Straits Times.

Norway: 13 weeks

Norwegian mothers are allowed 13 weeks off and they're paid almost the equivalent of their full salary — 97.9%.

That would amount to a slightly lesser 12.7 fully-paid weeks.

Poland: 20 weeks

Mothers are paid 100% of their previous salary.Lukasz Stefanski/Shutterstock

Portugal: 6 weeks

New moms are allowed six weeks off, fully-paid.RossHelen/Shutterstock

Romania: 18 weeks

Romanian mothers are paid 85% of their salary while on maternity leave.Andrii Lutsyk/Shutterstock

Slovakia: 34 weeks

That's nearly eight months.emperorcosar/Shutterstock

Slovenia: 15 weeks

Slovenian women are paid 100% of their former salary during their time off.S-F/Shutterstock

Spain: 16 weeks

The time off is paid at 100% of the mother's former salary. emperorcosar/Shutterstock

Sweden: 12.9 weeks

Moms are paid 77.6% of their previous salary for just under 13 weeks.Scanrail1/Shutterstock

Switzerland: 14 weeks

Swiss moms get 14 paid weeks off.b-hide the scene/Shutterstock

Turkey: 16 weeks

Turkish moms get 16 weeks of paid maternity leave. The pay rate is 66% of their previous salary, which would work out to 10.6 fully-paid weeks off.

The United Kingdom: 39 weeks

Mothers in the UK are allowed up to a whole year off for maternity leave, but only the first 39 weeks are paid — at a rate of 30.9% of their former salary.

The fully-paid equivalent time off would be 12.1 weeks.

United States: 0 weeks

The US is the only developed country that doesn't give new mothers any paid leave.Orhan Cam/Shutterstock

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