Best place globally to be a parent revealed

When you’re thinking of starting a family, there are a lot of considerations to take into account before taking such a big step. Some of the bigger factors would be your finances, housing and parental leave to keep your family safe and healthy.

Keeping your budget in check might start becoming more of a priority when you expand your family. For example, you might look to buy a new home and find a bigger space. When you do apply for a home loan and have children or dependents, your borrowing capacity from banks and lenders could be impacted. This is because living expenses are one of the key considerations for lenders looking to offer you a loan, and your living expenses will typically increase depending on the number of dependents you have.

Depending on where in the world you live, you could be entitled to different financial benefits and paid parental leave when the little one comes along. As experts in a home loan comparison, we wanted to investigate where the best places to raise a family are from a financial perspective, and how Australia compares. With that in mind, we’ve analysed which countries have the most supportive paid maternity leave, child support benefits and government funding.

If you’re interested in reading the 2022 iteration of this data, click here.

Iceland and Poland ranked in the top two spots, above Sweden, Luxembourg and Denmark, which were previously ranked above them in previous years. All these countries have generously funded support for new parents and families.

1. Iceland

Iceland ranked first for the highest monetary family benefits out of 43 countries. The Icelandic government-funded child support is calculated from a family’s income. There is also an additional child benefit paid when the child is under seven, which is also income-related. For example, a family with two parents and one child under the age of seven, who have an annual salary of $100,000 AUD (9,100,000 ISK) would receive $5,225 AUD (475,000 ISK) annually or $435.40 AUD monthly. These payments are divided equally between spouses and paid quarterly at their tax assessment time.

2. Poland

Poland ranked second in the list for monetary benefits offered to families. They offer a child support benefit, called Family 800 plus, which entitles families with a dependent child to 800 PLN ($312 AUD) monthly, per child. This benefit is regardless of the family’s income and is available to the family until the child is 18 years old. Poland increased this benefit at the start of 2024, previously named Family 500 plus, offering families 500 PLN ($195 AUD) monthly, which contributed to their increase in the OECD rankings.

3. Sweden

Sweden was ranked third for family monetary benefits, following Poland by 0.01% of GDP spent. The child benefit on offer in Sweden is available regardless of the family’s income; they will receive 1,250 SEK ($187.50 AUD) monthly until the child turns 16. If the child continues studying after the age of 16, they will receive a study allowance which continues at the same amount, but is paid to the child, except in July and August during their summer break.

Top countries for parental leave

The table below displays the duration of maternity leave in weeks available to new mothers in each country, compared with the amount of paid leave available to them at a full-rate equivalent (FRE), which is the length of the leave if they were to be paid at 100% of national average earnings. This list is exclusive of any state or organisation-based parental leave programs that might exist.

The table shows a wide variety of the availability of paid parental leave across the 43 countries, with the overall average full paid (FRE) entitlement of 33 weeks across all the countries. Some countries have a generous amount of leave for new mothers, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary and the Slovak Republic, all offering two years or more of paid leave entitlements. Some countries, such as the United States, have zero paid leave entitlement.

1. Romania

Romania was ranked first for the most weeks of (FRE) paid maternity leave available to mothers. Romanian mothers are entitled to 126 days of maternity leave, which they can evenly split into 63 days prenatal and 63 days postnatal. This period is mandatory for the health and wellbeing of both mothers and a baby. However, if the full 63 days of leave are not used in the prenatal stage, they can still use the days postnatal. The Unique National Fund of Health Insurances funds the required maternity allowance, which is 85% of the mother’s average gross monthly income. Once the 126 days are up, either parent can take up to two years of paid parental leave to care for their child, until the child turns two. The parental leave benefit amount is 85% of the parents’ average income. The law encourages parents to share the leave and for both parents to take at least one month of the total parental leave period.

2. Estonia

Estonia was ranked second for its paid maternity leave for new parents. The National Health Insurance Fund pays maternity leave for up to 100 days for working mothers, with 70 days available before and 30 days after the birth. Thereafter, the family is entitled to parental benefits, with several types of parental leave and allowances for parents, depending on income. Either parent can take parental leave until the child turns three.

3. Hungary

Hungary was ranked third for their maternity and parental leave offerings to families. Hungarian mothers are entitled to 24 consecutive weeks of maternity leave, which can start four weeks prior to the child’s birth. Following this, Hungarian parents are eligible for an additional 44 days of parental leave until their child is three years of age.

Australian benefits and support for new families

Despite Australia being ranked low in both sections for monetary benefits on offer for families and paid maternity and parental leave entitlements, there are various policies and schemes in place for both parents from loan lenders and the Australian Government to assist new families.

These include: