WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Do countries guarantee self-employed workers access to paid maternal leave?

Globally, nearly half of all workers are self-employed, and include among their ranks some of the most vulnerable workers—such as own account street venders. This indicator captures legislative guarantees (and exclusions) to “self-employed,” “own-account,” and “independent workers,” regardless of their sector. This category does not include provisions that narrowly extend to workers in cooperatives nor contributing family workers—groups which are defined as subsets of self-employed workers. Globally, over 80% of own-account workers are engaged in the informal economy; a small number of countries extend guarantees to paid leave to “informal workers” and those countries are included in this category as well.

Paid maternal leave includes both paid maternity leave, which is leave reserved for mothers of infants, and paid shared parental leave—which is leave available to either parent of an infant—that can be taken by women.

National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed means that state-financed benefits explicitly exclude self-employed workers from coverage, or national benefits are only available through employers. Note that in some countries, self-employed workers may have access to certain cash benefits financed by the state (e.g. old age pensions) but are not guaranteed access to maternal leave benefits.

Guaranteed to self-employed means that national legislation explicitly guarantees self-employed workers the right to register and access at least some maternal leave benefits financed through the state as part of the main state-financed scheme or a separate program. This includes both mandatory and voluntary schemes, and cases where benefits for self-employed workers are less generous than those available to dependent workers.

Countries

Marshall Islands - No national paid maternal leave

Micronesia, Federated States of - No national paid maternal leave

Nauru - No national paid maternal leave

Palau - No national paid maternal leave

Papua New Guinea - No national paid maternal leave

Tonga - No national paid maternal leave

United States of America - No national paid maternal leave

Afghanistan - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Algeria - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Argentina - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Bahrain - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Bangladesh - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Benin - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Bhutan - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Botswana - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Brunei - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Burkina Faso - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Cambodia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Cameroon - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Central African Republic - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Chad - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

China - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Comoros - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Democratic Republic of the Congo - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Republic of the Congo - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Djibouti - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Eritrea - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Ethiopia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Fiji - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

The Gambia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Georgia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Ghana - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Guatemala - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Guinea - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

India - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Indonesia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Iraq - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Jamaica - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Japan - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Kenya - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Kiribati - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Kuwait - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Lesotho - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Liberia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Madagascar - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Malawi - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Malaysia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Maldives - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Mali - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Mauritania - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Mauritius - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Mexico - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Monaco - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Morocco - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Niger - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Nigeria - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Oman - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Pakistan - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Peru - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Qatar - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Rwanda - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Samoa - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Saudi Arabia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Senegal - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Sierra Leone - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Solomon Islands - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Somalia - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

South Africa - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

South Sudan - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Sri Lanka - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Sudan - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Suriname - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Eswatini - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Syria - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Trinidad and Tobago - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Tuvalu - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Uganda - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

United Arab Emirates - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Vanuatu - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Vietnam - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Yemen - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Zimbabwe - National paid maternal leave, but not for self-employed

Albania - Guaranteed to self-employed

Andorra - Guaranteed to self-employed

Angola - Guaranteed to self-employed

Antigua and Barbuda - Guaranteed to self-employed

Armenia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Australia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Austria - Guaranteed to self-employed

Azerbaijan - Guaranteed to self-employed

Bahamas - Guaranteed to self-employed

Barbados - Guaranteed to self-employed

Belarus - Guaranteed to self-employed

Belgium - Guaranteed to self-employed

Belize - Guaranteed to self-employed

Bolivia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Brazil - Guaranteed to self-employed

Bulgaria - Guaranteed to self-employed

Burundi - Guaranteed to self-employed

Canada - Guaranteed to self-employed

Cabo Verde - Guaranteed to self-employed

Chile - Guaranteed to self-employed

Colombia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Costa Rica - Guaranteed to self-employed

Cote d'Ivoire - Guaranteed to self-employed

Croatia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Cuba - Guaranteed to self-employed

Cyprus - Guaranteed to self-employed

Czech Republic - Guaranteed to self-employed

Denmark - Guaranteed to self-employed

Dominica - Guaranteed to self-employed

Dominican Republic - Guaranteed to self-employed

Ecuador - Guaranteed to self-employed

Egypt - Guaranteed to self-employed

El Salvador - Guaranteed to self-employed

Equatorial Guinea - Guaranteed to self-employed

Estonia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Finland - Guaranteed to self-employed

France - Guaranteed to self-employed

Gabon - Guaranteed to self-employed

Germany - Guaranteed to self-employed

Greece - Guaranteed to self-employed

Greenland - Guaranteed to self-employed

Grenada - Guaranteed to self-employed

Guyana - Guaranteed to self-employed

Haiti - Guaranteed to self-employed

Honduras - Guaranteed to self-employed

Hungary - Guaranteed to self-employed

Iceland - Guaranteed to self-employed

Iran - Guaranteed to self-employed

Ireland - Guaranteed to self-employed

Israel - Guaranteed to self-employed

Italy - Guaranteed to self-employed

Jordan - Guaranteed to self-employed

Kazakhstan - Guaranteed to self-employed

Republic of Korea - Guaranteed to self-employed

Kyrgyzstan - Guaranteed to self-employed

Laos - Guaranteed to self-employed

Latvia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Lebanon - Guaranteed to self-employed

Libya - Guaranteed to self-employed

Liechtenstein - Guaranteed to self-employed

Lithuania - Guaranteed to self-employed

Luxembourg - Guaranteed to self-employed

North Macedonia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Malta - Guaranteed to self-employed

Moldova - Guaranteed to self-employed

Mongolia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Montenegro - Guaranteed to self-employed

Mozambique - Guaranteed to self-employed

Myanmar - Guaranteed to self-employed

Namibia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Nepal - Guaranteed to self-employed

The Netherlands - Guaranteed to self-employed

New Zealand - Guaranteed to self-employed

Nicaragua - Guaranteed to self-employed

Norway - Guaranteed to self-employed

Panama - Guaranteed to self-employed

Paraguay - Guaranteed to self-employed

The Philippines - Guaranteed to self-employed

Poland - Guaranteed to self-employed

Portugal - Guaranteed to self-employed

Romania - Guaranteed to self-employed

Russian Federation - Guaranteed to self-employed

San Marino - Guaranteed to self-employed

Sao Tome and Principe - Guaranteed to self-employed

Serbia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Seychelles - Guaranteed to self-employed

Singapore - Guaranteed to self-employed

Slovakia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Slovenia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Spain - Guaranteed to self-employed

St. Kitts and Nevis - Guaranteed to self-employed

St. Lucia - Guaranteed to self-employed

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Guaranteed to self-employed

Sweden - Guaranteed to self-employed

Switzerland - Guaranteed to self-employed

Tajikistan - Guaranteed to self-employed

Tanzania - Guaranteed to self-employed

Thailand - Guaranteed to self-employed

Timor-Leste - Guaranteed to self-employed

Togo - Guaranteed to self-employed

Tunisia - Guaranteed to self-employed

Türkiye - Guaranteed to self-employed

Ukraine - Guaranteed to self-employed

United Kingdom - Guaranteed to self-employed

Uruguay - Guaranteed to self-employed

Venezuela - Guaranteed to self-employed

Zambia - Guaranteed to self-employed