What are the Best and Worst Countries for Paid Maternity Leaves?
Paid maternity leave is a privilege that is granted to would-be-mothers or new mothers. This gives a woman, the liberty of taking a leave from office for a particular amount of time, immediately before or after child birth, and still get her monthly salary.
Every mother needs to recover emotionally and physically after giving birth to her child and maternity leave enables her to do the same, without stressing about her finances. An infant needs the care of mother the most, and via paid leaves, she can spend plenty time with her child.
Even though paid maternity leave seems beneficial for expecting and new mothers, not every country is generous enough to grant sufficient amount of leaves. While some nations are quite generous and grant more than a year of paid maternity leaves, there are several countries which do not avail even one.
You might get shocked to know that the United States is one of the worst countries when it comes to paid maternity leaves. According to the World Policy Analysis Center’s data, the country does not provide any paid leave to the mothers in need. Apart from it, many other regions like Marshall Islands, Federates States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and Tonga also do not avail any maternity leaves.
14 weeks of paid leaves are availed to mothers in nations like Afghanistan, Argentina, Bhutan, Cambodia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Mauritius, and Peru. Canada, France, Greece, Iran, Italy, the United Kingdom, Vietnam, and India are some other countries which are quite generous as the leaves range from between 26 weeks to 51.9 weeks, suggesting how mothers can take a leave off work from 6 months to a year and they are still paid.
If you think that is enough, then let us tell you, that there are countries which offer 52 weeks or more paid maternity leaves. One year is a good amount of time for mothers to get back to good health and start working with a fresh balance.
The table below provides information on the paid maternity leaves provided by each nation.
| Country | Maternity |
| Micronesia | No paid leave for mothers |
| Marshall Islands | No paid leave for mothers |
| Nauru | No paid leave for mothers |
| Palau | No paid leave for mothers |
| Papua New Guinea | No paid leave for mothers |
| Suriname | No paid leave for mothers |
| Tonga | No paid leave for mothers |
| United States of America | No paid leave for mothers |
| Afghanistan | Less than 14 weeks |
| Angola | Less than 14 weeks |
| Antigua | Less than 14 weeks |
| Argentina | Less than 14 weeks |
| Bahamas | Less than 14 weeks |
| Bahrain | Less than 14 weeks |
| Barbados | Less than 14 weeks |
| Barbuda | Less than 14 weeks |
| Bhutan | Less than 14 weeks |
| Bolivia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Botswana | Less than 14 weeks |
| Burundi | Less than 14 weeks |
| Cambodia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Cape Verde | Less than 14 weeks |
| Dominica | Less than 14 weeks |
| Dominican Republic | Less than 14 weeks |
| Ecuador | Less than 14 weeks |
| Egypt | Less than 14 weeks |
| El Salvador | Less than 14 weeks |
| Equatorial Guinea | Less than 14 weeks |
| Eritrea | Less than 14 weeks |
| Ethiopia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Fiji | Less than 14 weeks |
| Ghana | Less than 14 weeks |
| Grenada | Less than 14 weeks |
| Guatemala | Less than 14 weeks |
| Guinea-Bissau | Less than 14 weeks |
| Guyana | Less than 14 weeks |
| Haiti | Less than 14 weeks |
| Honduras | Less than 14 weeks |
| Indonesia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Iraq | Less than 14 weeks |
| Jamaica | Less than 14 weeks |
| Jordan | Less than 14 weeks |
| Kenya | Less than 14 weeks |
| Kiribati | Less than 14 weeks |
| North Korea | Less than 14 weeks |
| Kuwait | Less than 14 weeks |
| Lebanon | Less than 14 weeks |
| Lesotho | Less than 14 weeks |
| Liberia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Malawi | Less than 14 weeks |
| Malaysia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Maldives | Less than 14 weeks |
| Mauritius | Less than 14 weeks |
| Mexico | Less than 14 weeks |
| Mozambique | Less than 14 weeks |
| Namibia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Nepal | Less than 14 weeks |
| Nicaragua | Less than 14 weeks |
| Nigeria | Less than 14 weeks |
| Oman | Less than 14 weeks |
| Pakistan | Less than 14 weeks |
| Paraguay | Less than 14 weeks |
| Peru | Less than 14 weeks |
| Philippines | Less than 14 weeks |
| Qatar | Less than 14 weeks |
| Rwanda | Less than 14 weeks |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Less than 14 weeks |
| Saint Lucia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Less than 14 weeks |
| Samoa | Less than 14 weeks |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Less than 14 weeks |
| Saudi Arabia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Sierra Leone | Less than 14 weeks |
| Solomon Islands | Less than 14 weeks |
| South Sudan | Less than 14 weeks |
| Sri Lanka | Less than 14 weeks |
| Sudan | Less than 14 weeks |
| Swaziland | Less than 14 weeks |
| Tanzania | Less than 14 weeks |
| Thailand | Less than 14 weeks |
| Timor-Leste | Less than 14 weeks |
| Tunisia | Less than 14 weeks |
| Tuvalu | Less than 14 weeks |
| Uganda | Less than 14 weeks |
| United Arab Emirates | Less than 14 weeks |
| Vanuatu | Less than 14 weeks |
| Yemen | Less than 14 weeks |
| Brunei | Less than 14 weeks |
| Singapore | Less than 14 weeks |
| Burma | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Laos | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Uruguay | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Algeria | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Andorra | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Australia | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Bangladesh | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Belize | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Benin | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Brazil | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Burkina Faso | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Cameroon | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Central African Republic | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Chad | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| China | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Colombia | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Comoros | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Congo (Brazzaville) | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Congo (Kinshasa) | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Costa Rica | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Cote D’Ivoire | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Cyprus | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Djibouti | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Gabon | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Guinea | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Israel | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Kazakhstan | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Kyrgyzstan | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Libya | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Liechtenstein | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Madagascar | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Mali | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Malta | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Mauritania | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Monaco | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Morocco | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Netherlands | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| New Zealand | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Niger | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Panama | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Senegal | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Seychelles | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Somalia | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| South Africa | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Spain | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Switzerland | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Syria | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Togo | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Turkey | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Zambia | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| Zimbabwe | 14 – 25.9 weeks |
| India | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Georgia | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Belgium | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Chile | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| France | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Gambia, The | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Greece | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Iceland | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Iran | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Ireland | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Italy | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Luxembourg | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Macedonia | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Norway | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Portugal | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| United Kingdom | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Venezuela | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Vietnam | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Finland | 26 – 51.9 weeks |
| Turkmenistan | 52 weeks or more |
| Canada | 52 weeks or more |
| Albania | 52 weeks or more |
| Armenia | 52 weeks or more |
| Austria | 52 weeks or more |
| Azerbaijan | 52 weeks or more |
| Belarus | 52 weeks or more |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 52 weeks or more |
| Bulgaria | 52 weeks or more |
| Croatia | 52 weeks or more |
| Cuba | 52 weeks or more |
| Czech Republic | 52 weeks or more |
| Denmark | 52 weeks or more |
| Estonia | 52 weeks or more |
| Germany | 52 weeks or more |
| Hungary | 52 weeks or more |
| Japan | 52 weeks or more |
| South Korea | 52 weeks or more |
| Latvia | 52 weeks or more |
| Lithuania | 52 weeks or more |
| Moldova | 52 weeks or more |
| Mongolia | 52 weeks or more |
| Montenegro | 52 weeks or more |
| Poland | 52 weeks or more |
| Romania | 52 weeks or more |
| Russia | 52 weeks or more |
| San Marino | 52 weeks or more |
| Serbia | 52 weeks or more |
| Slovakia | 52 weeks or more |
| Slovenia | 52 weeks or more |
| Sweden | 52 weeks or more |
| Tajikistan | 52 weeks or more |
| Ukraine | 52 weeks or more |
| Uzbekistan | 52 weeks or more |
Know more: