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Is paid leave available for mothers of infants?
This map tells us whether countries provide paid leave from work for mothers of infants.
Map reflects a systematic review of laws in place as of April 2015 supplemented with detailed data on OECD countries as of September 2016 and other known policy changes that have occurred since then.
Paid leave for mothers includes both paid maternity leave, which is leave reserved for mothers of infants, and paid parental leave, which is leave for either parent of an infant, that can be taken by women.
We report the leave available in weeks under normal conditions, excluding extended leave periods under extraordinary circumstances such as childbirth complications.
The International Labor Organization's Maternity Protection Convention (No. 183) states that all countries, regardless of income, should guarantee women a minimum of 14 weeks of paid maternity leave.
The World Health Organization recommends at least 6 months of breastfeeding, which is facilitated by paid leave.
In 2016, a senator of the Philippines proposed increasing the duration of paid maternity leave, citing a study by the WORLD Policy Analysis Center and its partners on the impact of paid maternity leave on infant mortality rates. In 2018, the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines ratified the Expanded Maternity Leave Act, which will increase the duration of paid maternity leave from 60 to 105 days; the Act is currently awaiting the signature of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Countries
Papua New Guinea
- No paid leave
Micronesia, Federated States of
- No paid leave
Palau
- No paid leave
Suriname
- No paid leave
Marshall Islands
- No paid leave
Tonga
- No paid leave
Nauru
- No paid leave
United States of America
- No paid leave
Namibia
- Less than 14 weeks
Mozambique
- Less than 14 weeks
Malawi
- Less than 14 weeks
Nepal
- Less than 14 weeks
Mexico
- Less than 14 weeks
Mauritius
- Less than 14 weeks
Nicaragua
- Less than 14 weeks
Maldives
- Less than 14 weeks
Nigeria
- Less than 14 weeks
Malaysia
- Less than 14 weeks
Kuwait
- Less than 14 weeks
Lesotho
- Less than 14 weeks
Lebanon
- Less than 14 weeks
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
- Less than 14 weeks
Kiribati
- Less than 14 weeks
Kenya
- Less than 14 weeks
Jordan
- Less than 14 weeks
Jamaica
- Less than 14 weeks
Iraq
- Less than 14 weeks
Indonesia
- Less than 14 weeks
Honduras
- Less than 14 weeks
Haiti
- Less than 14 weeks
Guyana
- Less than 14 weeks
Guinea-Bissau
- Less than 14 weeks
Oman
- Less than 14 weeks
Afghanistan
- Less than 14 weeks
Pakistan
- Less than 14 weeks
St. Lucia
- Less than 14 weeks
Yemen
- Less than 14 weeks
Vanuatu
- Less than 14 weeks
United Arab Emirates
- Less than 14 weeks
Uganda
- Less than 14 weeks
Tuvalu
- Less than 14 weeks
Tunisia
- Less than 14 weeks
Timor-Leste
- Less than 14 weeks
Thailand
- Less than 14 weeks
Tanzania
- Less than 14 weeks
Swaziland
- Less than 14 weeks
Sudan
- Less than 14 weeks
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
- Less than 14 weeks
St. Kitts and Nevis
- Less than 14 weeks
Grenada
- Less than 14 weeks
Sri Lanka
- Less than 14 weeks
South Sudan
- Less than 14 weeks
Solomon Islands
- Less than 14 weeks
Singapore
- Less than 14 weeks
Sierra Leone
- Less than 14 weeks
Saudi Arabia
- Less than 14 weeks
Sao Tome and Principe
- Less than 14 weeks
Samoa
- Less than 14 weeks
Rwanda
- Less than 14 weeks
Qatar
- Less than 14 weeks
The Philippines
- Less than 14 weeks
Peru
- Less than 14 weeks
Paraguay
- Less than 14 weeks
Guatemala
- Less than 14 weeks
Liberia
- Less than 14 weeks
Burundi
- Less than 14 weeks
Bahrain
- Less than 14 weeks
Equatorial Guinea
- Less than 14 weeks
El Salvador
- Less than 14 weeks
Egypt
- Less than 14 weeks
Bahamas
- Less than 14 weeks
Ecuador
- Less than 14 weeks
Dominican Republic
- Less than 14 weeks
Barbados
- Less than 14 weeks
Ethiopia
- Less than 14 weeks
Bhutan
- Less than 14 weeks
Bolivia
- Less than 14 weeks
Cape Verde
- Less than 14 weeks
Botswana
- Less than 14 weeks
Cambodia
- Less than 14 weeks
Brunei
- Less than 14 weeks
Eritrea
- Less than 14 weeks
Dominica
- Less than 14 weeks
Antigua and Barbuda
- Less than 14 weeks
Ghana
- Less than 14 weeks
Argentina
- Less than 14 weeks
Fiji
- Less than 14 weeks
Angola
- Less than 14 weeks
The Netherlands
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Niger
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Comoros
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
New Zealand
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Turkey
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Democratic Republic of the Congo
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Republic of the Congo
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
South Africa
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Costa Rica
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Myanmar
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Cote d'Ivoire
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Colombia
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Panama
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
China
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Somalia
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Chad
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Spain
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Central African Republic
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Algeria
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Guinea
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Cameroon
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Brazil
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Seychelles
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Zambia
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Senegal
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Morocco
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Benin
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Monaco
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Switzerland
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Trinidad and Tobago
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Kazakhstan
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Israel
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Togo
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Kyrgyzstan
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Laos
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Uruguay
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Andorra
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Libya
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Liechtenstein
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Syria
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Bangladesh
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Gabon
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Madagascar
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Burkina Faso
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Djibouti
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Mali
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Malta
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Mauritania
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Cyprus
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Belize
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Australia
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Zimbabwe
- 14 - 25.9 weeks
Venezuela
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
United Kingdom
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Belgium
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Vietnam
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Greece
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Norway
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
India
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Luxembourg
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Macedonia
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Italy
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Ireland
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Iran
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Greenland
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Chile
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Finland
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Iceland
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
France
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Portugal
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
The Gambia
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Georgia
- 26 - 51.9 weeks
Uzbekistan
- 52 weeks or more
Hungary
- 52 weeks or more
Azerbaijan
- 52 weeks or more
Ukraine
- 52 weeks or more
Armenia
- 52 weeks or more
Turkmenistan
- 52 weeks or more
Japan
- 52 weeks or more
Estonia
- 52 weeks or more
Germany
- 52 weeks or more
Austria
- 52 weeks or more
Republic of Korea
- 52 weeks or more
San Marino
- 52 weeks or more
Latvia
- 52 weeks or more
Montenegro
- 52 weeks or more
Russian Federation
- 52 weeks or more
Romania
- 52 weeks or more
Serbia
- 52 weeks or more
Poland
- 52 weeks or more
Canada
- 52 weeks or more
Slovakia
- 52 weeks or more
Slovenia
- 52 weeks or more
Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 52 weeks or more
Mongolia
- 52 weeks or more
Albania
- 52 weeks or more
Moldova
- 52 weeks or more
Croatia
- 52 weeks or more
Cuba
- 52 weeks or more
Czech Republic
- 52 weeks or more
Belarus
- 52 weeks or more
Denmark
- 52 weeks or more
Sweden
- 52 weeks or more
Bulgaria
- 52 weeks or more
Tajikistan
- 52 weeks or more
Lithuania
- 52 weeks or more
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