WORLD Policy Analysis Center

Is paid leave structured to encourage working fathers to share infant caregiving responsibilities?

This map tells us whether countries structure paternity and parental leave to encourage fathers to take leave.

No paid leave for fathers means that there is no paid leave reserved for fathers of infants or the birth mother’s spouse or partner, or paid shared parental leave available.

Parental leave but no incentives means that fathers, spouses, and/or partners only have access to paid shared parental leave, which is leave available to either parent. Research shows that women are more likely than men to use paid parental leave.

Reserved for fathers means paid leave that can only be taken by fathers or the birth mother’s spouse or partner. In some cases, additional leave may be available through shared parental leave.

Incentives for fathers to take leave means that there are incentives for parents to share their paid parental leave or disincentives for only mothers to take leave. These incentives include increasing the total amount of leave available or the payment rate if both parents use shared parental leave.

Countries

Antigua and Barbuda - No paid leave for fathers

Bahamas - No paid leave for fathers

Bangladesh - No paid leave for fathers

Barbados - No paid leave for fathers

Belize - No paid leave for fathers

Botswana - No paid leave for fathers

Brunei - No paid leave for fathers

Cambodia - No paid leave for fathers

Cameroon - No paid leave for fathers

Central African Republic - No paid leave for fathers

Comoros - No paid leave for fathers

Republic of the Congo - No paid leave for fathers

Costa Rica - No paid leave for fathers

Dominica - No paid leave for fathers

Egypt - No paid leave for fathers

Eritrea - No paid leave for fathers

Ghana - No paid leave for fathers

Grenada - No paid leave for fathers

Guinea - No paid leave for fathers

Guinea-Bissau - No paid leave for fathers

Guyana - No paid leave for fathers

Haiti - No paid leave for fathers

Honduras - No paid leave for fathers

India - No paid leave for fathers

Iran - No paid leave for fathers

Iraq - No paid leave for fathers

Jamaica - No paid leave for fathers

Kazakhstan - No paid leave for fathers

Kiribati - No paid leave for fathers

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

Kuwait - No paid leave for fathers

Kyrgyzstan - No paid leave for fathers

Laos - No paid leave for fathers

Lebanon - No paid leave for fathers

Lesotho - No paid leave for fathers

Liberia - No paid leave for fathers

Libya - No paid leave for fathers

Liechtenstein - No paid leave for fathers

Madagascar - No paid leave for fathers

Malaysia - No paid leave for fathers

Marshall Islands - No paid leave for fathers

Micronesia, Federated States of - No paid leave for fathers

Namibia - No paid leave for fathers

Nauru - No paid leave for fathers

Niger - No paid leave for fathers

Nigeria - No paid leave for fathers

Oman - No paid leave for fathers

Pakistan - No paid leave for fathers

Palau - No paid leave for fathers

Papua New Guinea - No paid leave for fathers

Qatar - No paid leave for fathers

Sao Tome and Principe - No paid leave for fathers

Senegal - No paid leave for fathers

Sierra Leone - No paid leave for fathers

Solomon Islands - No paid leave for fathers

Somalia - No paid leave for fathers

Sri Lanka - No paid leave for fathers

St. Kitts and Nevis - No paid leave for fathers

St. Lucia - No paid leave for fathers

St. Vincent and the Grenadines - No paid leave for fathers

Sudan - No paid leave for fathers

Eswatini - No paid leave for fathers

Syria - No paid leave for fathers

Tajikistan - No paid leave for fathers

Thailand - No paid leave for fathers

Tonga - No paid leave for fathers

Trinidad and Tobago - No paid leave for fathers

United States of America - No paid leave for fathers

Vanuatu - No paid leave for fathers

Yemen - No paid leave for fathers

Zimbabwe - No paid leave for fathers

Armenia - Parental leave but no incentives

Azerbaijan - Parental leave but no incentives

Belarus - Parental leave but no incentives

Cuba - Parental leave but no incentives

Georgia - Parental leave but no incentives

Israel - Parental leave but no incentives

New Zealand - Parental leave but no incentives

Russian Federation - Parental leave but no incentives

San Marino - Parental leave but no incentives

Turkmenistan - Parental leave but no incentives

Uzbekistan - Parental leave but no incentives

Afghanistan - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Albania - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Algeria - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Angola - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Argentina - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Australia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Bahrain - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Benin - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Bhutan - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Bolivia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Brazil - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Bulgaria - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Burkina Faso - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Burundi - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Cabo Verde - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Chad - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Chile - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

China - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Colombia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Democratic Republic of the Congo - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Cote d'Ivoire - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Cyprus - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Czech Republic - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Denmark - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Djibouti - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Dominican Republic - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Ecuador - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

El Salvador - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Equatorial Guinea - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Ethiopia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Fiji - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Gabon - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

The Gambia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Greece - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Guatemala - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Hungary - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Indonesia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Jordan - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Kenya - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Latvia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

North Macedonia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Malawi - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Maldives - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Mali - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Malta - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Mauritania - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Mauritius - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Mexico - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Moldova - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Monaco - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Mongolia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Morocco - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Mozambique - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Myanmar - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Nepal - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Nicaragua - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Panama - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Paraguay - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Peru - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

The Philippines - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Poland - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Rwanda - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Samoa - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Saudi Arabia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Serbia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Seychelles - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Singapore - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

South Africa - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

South Sudan - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Suriname - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Switzerland - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Tanzania - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Timor-Leste - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Togo - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Tunisia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Türkiye - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Tuvalu - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Uganda - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Ukraine - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

United Arab Emirates - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

United Kingdom - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Uruguay - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Venezuela - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Vietnam - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Zambia - Less than 3 weeks reserved for fathers

Andorra - 3 - 13.9 weeks reserved for fathers

Estonia - 3 - 13.9 weeks reserved for fathers

Finland - 3 - 13.9 weeks reserved for fathers

Ireland - 3 - 13.9 weeks reserved for fathers

Lithuania - 3 - 13.9 weeks reserved for fathers

The Netherlands - 3 - 13.9 weeks reserved for fathers

Austria - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Belgium - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Canada - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Croatia - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

France - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Germany - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Greenland - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Iceland - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Italy - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Japan - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Republic of Korea - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Luxembourg - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Norway - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Portugal - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Romania - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Slovakia - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Slovenia - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Spain - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave

Sweden - At least 14 weeks reserved for fathers, or incentives for fathers to take shared leave