World Bank Group · Length of Paid Maternity Leave
Paid maternity leave by country
How many days of paid leave does the law give a new mother?
Of the 190 countries compared in 2025, Bulgaria had the highest reading, 410, and 12 countries shared the lowest reading, 0. In the middle country the figure was 98. Among the 190 countries measured in every edition since 1970, the middle one moved from 70 to 98.
Paid maternity leave · 2025
Context statistic
Highest of 190Bulgaria
410012025 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 190 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Pamporoff · Public domain, greyscale
2Photo: Dirk.heldmaier derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3Photo: Goran Anđelić Derivative work by Globe-trotter · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Lowest in 2025
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
02Every measured country
Paid maternity leave on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 0–84
- 90–98
- 100–120
- 126–150
- 154–410
- No reading in 2025
- Europe
126
the middle country, of 41 measured · 49 members
Bulgaria4103 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Africa
98
the middle country, of 54 measured · 55 members
Djibouti182
Eswatini14Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Asia
98
the middle country, of 48 measured · 52 members
Iran270
Afghanistan0Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Americas
91
the middle country, of 35 measured · 48 members
Venezuela182
United States0Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Oceania
0
the middle country, of 12 measured · 21 members
Fiji987 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
22 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Southern Europe
143
the middle country, of 14 measured · 17 members
2 share 365
Portugal0Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Eastern Europe
140
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Bulgaria4104 share 126
Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Western Europe
112
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Luxembourg1402 share 98
Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Eastern Africa
98
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
Djibouti182
Malawi56Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Eastern Asia
98
the middle country, of 6 measured · 8 members
China158
Taiwan56Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Middle Africa
98
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Republic of the Congo105
Equatorial Guinea84Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Northern Africa
98
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Algeria150
Tunisia30Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- South America
98
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Venezuela1822 share 84
Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- South-eastern Asia
98
the middle country, of 11 measured · 11 members
Vietnam180
Timor-Leste84Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Southern Asia
98
the middle country, of 9 measured · 9 members
Iran270Afghanistan0Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Western Africa
98
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Gambia1802 share 84
Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- Central America
95
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Costa Rica1203 share 84
Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Western Asia
91
the middle country, of 18 measured · 19 members
Cyprus154
Qatar50Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Caribbean
90
the middle country, of 13 measured · 24 members
3 share 98
2 share 56
Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Northern Europe
85
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
Ireland1822 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Southern Africa
84
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
South Africa120Eswatini14Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
2 share 0
2 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Central Asia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.
Tajikistan1403 share 126
Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Melanesia
4 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.
Fiji98
Papua New Guinea0Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Micronesia
4 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau.
Kiribati843 share 0
Highest and lowest reading in Micronesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
Canada105United States0Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
- Polynesia
2 of 7 measured — too few for a middle: Samoa, Tonga.
Samoa28
Tonga0Highest and lowest reading in Polynesia.
03The whole field at once
The spread
190 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 98; a quarter are above 120, and a quarter below 84. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
04All 190 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. It measures the law, not what mothers actually receive: informal workers are usually not covered, and the share of a wage paid varies. Many countries share the same entitlement — fourteen weeks, the international standard, is the most common — so no position is shown.
Showing 25 of 190 countries
Values for 2025. The change column compares 2025 with 2023 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
051970–2025 · 55 editions
Over time
Each point is one year of the statute book, as the Bank's report the following year recorded it. There is no 2024 point: the Bank moved from its 2024 report to its 2026 one. A step in the line is a change in the law — or, occasionally, the Bank correcting how it had coded one.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 190 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 120 | 98 |
| 2023 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 112 | 98 |
| 2022 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 112 | 98 |
| 2021 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 120 | 98 |
| 2020 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 120 | 98 |
| 2019 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 120 | 98 |
| 2018 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 117 | 98 |
| 2017 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 112 | 98 |
| 2016 | 190 | 98 | 84 – 112 | 98 |
| 2015 | 190 | 91 | 84 – 112 | 91 |
| 2014 | 190 | 91 | 84 – 112 | 91 |
| 2013 | 190 | 91 | 84 – 112 | 91 |
| 2012 | 190 | 91 | 84 – 112 | 91 |
| 2011 | 190 | 91 | 84 – 112 | 91 |
| 2010 | 190 | 90 | 84 – 112 | 90 |
| 2009 | 190 | 90 | 84 – 112 | 90 |
| 2008 | 190 | 90 | 84 – 112 | 90 |
| 2007 | 190 | 90 | 84 – 112 | 90 |
| 2006 | 190 | 90 | 84 – 112 | 90 |
| 2005 | 190 | 90 | 71 – 112 | 90 |
| 2004 | 190 | 90 | 70 – 112 | 90 |
| 2003 | 190 | 90 | 70 – 110 | 90 |
| 2002 | 190 | 90 | 70 – 110 | 90 |
| 2001 | 190 | 90 | 61 – 110 | 90 |
| 2000 | 190 | 90 | 61 – 110 | 90 |
| 1999 | 190 | 90 | 60 – 105 | 90 |
| 1998 | 190 | 90 | 60 – 105 | 90 |
| 1997 | 190 | 87 | 60 – 104 | 87 |
| 1996 | 190 | 84 | 60 – 104 | 84 |
| 1995 | 190 | 84 | 60 – 104 | 84 |
| 1994 | 190 | 84 | 60 – 100 | 84 |
| 1993 | 190 | 84 | 60 – 98 | 84 |
| 1992 | 190 | 84 | 56 – 98 | 84 |
| 1991 | 190 | 84 | 56 – 98 | 84 |
| 1990 | 190 | 84 | 56 – 98 | 84 |
| 1989 | 190 | 84 | 56 – 98 | 84 |
| 1988 | 190 | 84 | 56 – 98 | 84 |
| 1987 | 190 | 84 | 56 – 98 | 84 |
| 1986 | 190 | 84 | 56 – 98 | 84 |
| 1985 | 190 | 84 | 50 – 98 | 84 |
| 1984 | 190 | 84 | 50 – 98 | 84 |
| 1983 | 190 | 84 | 43 – 98 | 84 |
| 1982 | 190 | 84 | 42 – 98 | 84 |
| 1981 | 190 | 84 | 42 – 98 | 84 |
| 1980 | 190 | 84 | 30 – 98 | 84 |
| 1979 | 190 | 84 | 4 – 98 | 84 |
| 1978 | 190 | 84 | 0 – 98 | 84 |
| 1977 | 190 | 84 | 0 – 98 | 84 |
| 1976 | 190 | 84 | 0 – 98 | 84 |
| 1975 | 190 | 84 | 0 – 98 | 84 |
| 1974 | 190 | 84 | 0 – 98 | 84 |
| 1973 | 190 | 84 | 0 – 98 | 84 |
| 1972 | 190 | 84 | 0 – 91 | 84 |
| 1971 | 190 | 70 | 0 – 90 | 70 |
| 1970 | 190 | 70 | 0 – 90 | 70 |
062023 → 2025
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after- Algeria98 → 150+52
Cabo Verde60 → 90+30
Egypt90 → 120+30
Mozambique60 → 90+30- Cyprus126 → 154+28
Declined most
before → after- Afghanistan90 → 0−90
São Tomé and Príncipe98 → 90−8
190 countries were measured in both 2023 and 2025.
07Across every edition
Paid maternity leave in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
635
Paid maternity leave set in law (calendar days)
Lowest reading on record
Reached 1511 times by 66 countries — shared, so no holder is named
0
Paid maternity leave set in law (calendar days)
Biggest improvement between editions
+335
300 → 635
Biggest decline between editions
−485
635 → 150
Most improved since first measured
+298
112 → 410
At the top most often
22 of 55
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About paid maternity leave
This is how many calendar days of paid leave a country's law grants a mother around the birth of a child, as recorded by the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law project for the same economies every year since 1970.
What the number is: Paid maternity leave set in law (calendar days).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Work & Labour and Gender & Equality, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Work & LabourGender & EqualityWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where paid maternity leave is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Income Growth of the Poorest 40%World Bank Group · 89 countries in commonρ 0.49
Moves against
Where paid maternity leave is higher, these tend to be lower.
No statistic lines up this closely.
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 312 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The subject
The countries at either end
More from World Bank Group
11Questions
Paid maternity leave: questions and answers
Which country has the highest paid maternity leave?
Bulgaria, at 410, among the 190 countries compared in 2025.
Which country has the lowest paid maternity leave?
12 countries share the lowest reading, 0, among the 190 compared in 2025, so no single country is named.
How many countries does the Length of Paid Maternity Leave cover?
190 in 2025.
What is the world average paid maternity leave?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 190 compared in 2025, the figure was 98.
Is this World Bank Group’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. World Bank Group publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Length of Paid Maternity Leave published?
This site holds 55 editions, describing 1970 to 2025.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From World Bank Group, under CC BY 4.0. The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law data: the historical panel for 1971–2024 and the WBL 2026 file for the latest year, stored exactly as each was published. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Length of Paid Maternity Leave — World Bank Group
The World Bank's Women, Business and the Law data: the historical panel for 1971–2024 and the WBL 2026 file for the latest year, stored exactly as each was published.
Newest edition
Report year 2026Data year 2025
Cite the source as: World Bank. Women, Business and the Law. Washington, DC: World Bank Group.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-09-29.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: World Bank Group publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Bulgaria — Pamporoff, Public domain
- Albania — Dirk.heldmaier derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — Goran Anđelić Derivative work by Globe-trotter, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Paid maternity leave by country: Length of Paid Maternity Leave, data from World Bank Group. https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/maternity-leave