Top 9 countries with the best maternity and paternity leave

Having children is expensive. 

In Australia, the conservative cost of raising a child to 17 years of age is $297,600. This gets much more expensive when you have to take time off work to care for children. 

Fortunately, some generous countries are making it easier for new parents by compensating them for long periods of leave. Here are the countries with the best maternity and paternity leave.

1. Australia 

In Australia, the primary carer of a newborn or newly adopted child is eligible to 18 weeks paid leave at the national full-time minimum wage. The father or same-sex partner is also eligible for 2 weeks of paid leave at the national minimum wage.

In addition to this, the mother’s employer is also required to hold her position for at least 1 year. This means that new mothers are eligible for up to 1 year of unpaid leave. 

Essential healthcare is also free in Australia so this makes having a baby more affordable for new parents.

2. Spain 

Spanish healthcare is free to those who are tax-paying residents. This includes child healthcare!  

Standard maternity leave in Spain is 16 weeks. For mothers of twins, the leave is extended to 18 weeks and if she has triplets the leave is extended to 20 weeks.

Paternity leave is set at 5 weeks. This is much more generous than many other countries around the world.  During both maternity and paternity leave, the parents are paid 100% of their salaries by The Spanish Social Security. 

3. Germany 

Germany is one of the few countries in the world that offers free healthcare for all. 

Parental leave is available to either the mother or father of the child. The parent taking leave is eligible to up to 24 months paid parental leave! If both parents only work between 25 and 30 hours a week, they will be entitled to an additional four months of paid parental leave.

4. Belgium

In 2016 nearly a quarter of births in Belgium were by foreign mothers. It is easy to see why. Belgium is a very safe place for mothers. The government pays a grant of €1,200 for the birth of your first child and €930 for each additional child.

New fathers are entitled to 10 weeks of paid parental leave while mothers are entitled to 15 weeks of parental leave. This can be extended to 19 weeks if the mother has multiples.  

5. The Netherlands 

Dutch mothers are entitled to 16 weeks paid maternity leave. It is compulsory for 10 weeks of the leave to be taken after the birth of the child. If the baby is late than the additional time will be added to their leave to ensure all mothers spend at least 10 weeks at home with their new babies. 

6. Sweden 

Sweden is great when it comes to gender equality. The Swedish government believes that parents of either sex are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave! The rate of pay is around 80% of the parent’s full-time wage.  It has become frowned upon for fathers to not take up the generous maternity leave allowance. The days do not expire until the child is 8 years of age so you can take your leave at any point within that period. 

In Sweden, it is common to see groups of dads out at coffee shops with their toddlers. 

Stockholm syndrome might not be so bad after all. 

7. Denmark 

In total Danish parents are entitled to 52 weeks of paid parental leave. The mother takes 4 weeks of leave prior to childbirth than a further 14 weeks after childbirth. With the remaining 32 weeks, the parents are free to share the leave between them. The father is also entitled to 2 weeks off during the first 14 weeks of the child’s life. 

8. Iceland 

Parents in Iceland are entitled to a total of 9 months leave. The mother is given 3 months, then the father is given 3 months and the remaining 3 months can be split between them. 

Parents can also take a period of unpaid parental leave until their child reaches 8 years of age. 

9. Norway

Thanks to the generous parental leave 90% of Norweigian fathers take paternity leave. Fathers in Norway now get 15 weeks of parental leave as opposed to the former 10 weeks. This generous leave may allow mothers the freedom to return to work.

Norwegian mothers can take 35 weeks at full pay or 45 weeks at 80% pay. Between two parents they can take a total of  46 weeks at full pay or 56 weeks at 80% pay.

Did we get all of the countries with the best maternity and paternity leave? Comment below any other countries you can think of that offer great maternity and paternity leave.