Top 10 · work
Top 10 countries by paid maternity leave
Statutory paid leave available to mothers, in weeks. OECD Family Database (PF2.1) data, latest year 2025, covering 43 countries.
The top 10
1st of 43 · 2025
Bulgaria59 weeks
- 2ndGreece56 weeks
- 3rdUnited Kingdom39 weeks
- 4thSlovakia34 weeks
- 5thCroatia30 weeks
- 6thCzechia28 weeks
- 7thIceland26 weeks
- 7thIreland26 weeks
- 7thNew Zealand26 weeks
- 10thHungary24 weeks
The other end · bottom 5 of 43
- 39thMexico12 weeks
- 40thFinland7 weeks
- 41stPortugal6 weeks
- 42ndAustralia2 weeks
- 43rdUnited States0 weeks
Where the big countries land
- 34thGermany14 weeks
Common questions
Questions people ask about paid maternity leave
Which country ranks highest for paid maternity leave?
Bulgaria ranks 1st of 43 countries at 59 weeks (2025 data). Source: OECD Family Database (PF2.1).
Which countries are in the top 10 for paid maternity leave?
The top 10 are Bulgaria, Greece, United Kingdom, Slovakia, Croatia, Czechia, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand and Hungary — computed from OECD Family Database (PF2.1) data, latest year 2025.
Where does the United States rank in paid maternity leave?
The United States ranks 43rd of 43 countries at 0 weeks (2025 data). Source: OECD Family Database (PF2.1).
What is the median paid maternity leave worldwide?
Across the 43 countries covered, the median is 17 weeks. Values run from 59 weeks (Bulgaria, ranked 1st) to 0 weeks (United States, ranked 43rd).
Is paid maternity leave higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 31 European countries is 18 weeks, against 0 weeks in the United States — it is higher in Europe. Source: OECD Family Database (PF2.1).
Which country ranks lowest for paid maternity leave?
The United States sits at the other end of the list: 0 weeks ranks 43rd of 43 (2025 data). Source: OECD Family Database (PF2.1).
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More on work
- Statutory paid holidayStatutory minimum paid annual leave, in working days.
- Minimum wageStatutory hourly minimum wage, PPP-adjusted USD.
- UnemploymentUnemployed share of the labour force.
- Labor force participationShare of the adult population working or looking for work.
- Average wagesAverage monthly pay of employees, adjusted for price levels.
- Life expectancyPeriod life expectancy at birth.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- United Kingdomtops statutory paid holiday28 days
Bulgaria leads on paid maternity leave — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: Pinned snapshots: when we deliberately don't auto-refresh
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →