Which Countries Offer the Most Mandated Maternity Leave Around the World?

There is no denying that navigating parenthood is challenging, especially during a pandemic. If you are in the United States, you have to overcome the additional obstacle of parental leave, or lack thereof. Despite the fact that most developed countries in the world offer federally mandated paid parental leave, the United States does not. In fact, the U.S. has the enormous dishonor of being considered the only wealthy nation that offers no national paid parental leave. Let’s take a look at how parental leave compares across the globe.

Click below to zoom

As showcased by this chart created by PlaygroundEquipment.com, European countries such as Estonia, Bulgaria, and Hungary excel at providing their citizens with ample paid parental leave. On the map, the United States sticks out like a sore thumb. So why does this matter? The benefits of paid leave are well-documented. Here are just a handful of the benefits:

• • Supports children’s growth and development

• • Supports the physical and emotional health of the entire family unit

• • Supports family economic security

• • Develops stronger bonds

• • Benefits businesses and the economy by boosting productivity, employee retention, morale, and labor force participation

In studies of California’s paid leave program, around 90% of businesses reported either a positive or neutral impact on productivity and nearly all businesses (99%) highlighted positive or neutral effects on employee morale. 87% of businesses reported no increase in costs and 9% even reported savings thanks to lower rates of employee turnover and reduced spending on employee benefits. Perhaps it is time for America to catch up with the rest of the world.

Subject matter aside, it is truly a beautiful visualization! The header is bold and eye-catching, with the woman’s hair flowing down and leading the eye to the vibrant map. The country charts are dynamic and striking, and it has an overall energy that we hope can spark interest in paid parental leave reform.