WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Do adoptive parents have access to as much paid parental leave as birth parents?

To compare the duration of leave available for adoptive families with that available for birth families, we considered only paid leave available after the birth of an infant. In most countries, birth parents may take paid leave prior to delivery to support their health. The duration of paid leave available prior to delivery is excluded from calculations.

No paid parental leave means that there is no paid leave available for parents for either the birth or adoption of an infant.

No paid parental leave for adoptive parents means that while there is paid leave available for birth parents, there are no specific provisions for parents who legally adopt an infant

Paid leave for fostering an infant or for fostering to adopt an infant is not included unless the same policy applies to adoption leave. In some countries, paid leave for adoption is only available for infants or the duration is longer.

Countries

Marshall Islands - No paid parental leave

Micronesia, Federated States of - No paid parental leave

Nauru - No paid parental leave

Palau - No paid parental leave

Papua New Guinea - No paid parental leave

Tonga - No paid parental leave

United States of America - No paid parental leave

Afghanistan - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Algeria - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Angola - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Antigua and Barbuda - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Argentina - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Bahamas - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Bahrain - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Bangladesh - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Barbados - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Belize - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Benin - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Bhutan - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Bolivia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Botswana - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Brunei - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Burkina Faso - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Burundi - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Cambodia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Cameroon - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Cabo Verde - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Central African Republic - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Chad - No paid leave for adoptive parents

China - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Comoros - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Democratic Republic of the Congo - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Republic of the Congo - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Cote d'Ivoire - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Cuba - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Djibouti - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Dominica - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Dominican Republic - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Egypt - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Equatorial Guinea - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Eritrea - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Ethiopia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Fiji - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Gabon - No paid leave for adoptive parents

The Gambia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Ghana - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Grenada - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Guinea - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Guinea-Bissau - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Guyana - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Haiti - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Indonesia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Iran - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Iraq - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Jamaica - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Jordan - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Kiribati - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Democratic People's Republic of Korea - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Kuwait - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Laos - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Lebanon - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Lesotho - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Liberia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Libya - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Liechtenstein - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Madagascar - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Malawi - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Malaysia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Maldives - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Mali - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Mauritania - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Morocco - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Mozambique - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Namibia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Nepal - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Niger - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Nigeria - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Oman - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Pakistan - No paid leave for adoptive parents

The Philippines - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Qatar - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Rwanda - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Samoa - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Saudi Arabia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Senegal - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Seychelles - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Sierra Leone - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Solomon Islands - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Somalia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

South Sudan - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Sri Lanka - No paid leave for adoptive parents

St. Kitts and Nevis - No paid leave for adoptive parents

St. Lucia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Sudan - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Eswatini - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Switzerland - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Syria - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Tanzania - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Thailand - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Timor-Leste - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Togo - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Trinidad and Tobago - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Tunisia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Uganda - No paid leave for adoptive parents

United Arab Emirates - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Vanuatu - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Yemen - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Zambia - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Zimbabwe - No paid leave for adoptive parents

Albania - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Brazil - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Canada - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Croatia - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Ecuador - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Estonia - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Georgia - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Germany - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Guatemala - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

India - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Kenya - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Republic of Korea - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Lithuania - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

North Macedonia - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Malta - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Mauritius - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Moldova - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Monaco - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Mongolia - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Montenegro - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Myanmar - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

The Netherlands - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Panama - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Paraguay - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Peru - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Portugal - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Romania - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Sao Tome and Principe - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Serbia - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Slovenia - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

South Africa - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Suriname - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Türkiye - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Ukraine - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Uruguay - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Vietnam - Adoptive parents have less leave than birth parents

Andorra - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Armenia - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Australia - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Austria - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Azerbaijan - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Belarus - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Belgium - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Bulgaria - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Chile - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Colombia - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Costa Rica - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Cyprus - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Czech Republic - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Denmark - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

El Salvador - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Finland - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

France - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Greece - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Greenland - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Honduras - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Hungary - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Iceland - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Ireland - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Israel - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Italy - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Japan - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Kazakhstan - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Kyrgyzstan - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Latvia - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Luxembourg - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Mexico - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

New Zealand - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Nicaragua - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Norway - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Poland - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Russian Federation - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

San Marino - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Singapore - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Slovakia - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Spain - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Sweden - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Tajikistan - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Turkmenistan - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Tuvalu - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

United Kingdom - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Uzbekistan - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents

Venezuela - Equal duration of leave for adoptive parents