Status of Maternity Protection 
by Country

Most countries in the world provide for maternity protection legislation in one form or another. While the immense majority of nations do propose specifically termed “maternity protection” laws, some others, such as Switzerland for example, do not. In such cases however, either the national labour code, or the health insurance regulation, or the civil code, or even other areas – or all of these together – contain protective legislation for working mothers-to-be and new mothers. When examining the situation in your country it is important to take this into consideration.

Again, the vast majority of countries provide for paid maternity leave. Paid leave may be as short as 8 weeks and only for mothers, as in Lebanon or Mozambique, but at the other extreme, it may cover both parents for a number of months as in Sweden. It is interesting to note that many countries in Asia and the Middle East remain in the lower brackets, offering in general less than 12 weeks paid leave; Latin American countries average closer to the 12-week range; though a number of African countries offer less than 12 weeks, many others allow 12 to 14 weeks break for their female employees. The European countries provide the longest – 14, 15 and 16 weeks and more – paid leave. One industrialised country, Australia, only provides the right to maternity/paternity leave, but it is unpaid leave. You may want to check the chart entitled Status of Maternity Protection by Country to see where your country stands.