What the Law Guarantees in the U.S. and Europe, and Who Pays for It

A mother in Germany can take 58 weeks of paid leave after a birth, worth 38.2 weeks at full pay by the OECD’s measure ^[1]. A mother working for a private U.S. employer has no federal right to paid leave. The OECD lists the U.S. as the only one of its members “to offer no statutory entitlement to paid leave on a national basis” ^[1]. Federal law offers up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave to workers who qualify ^[5].

That gap in legal guarantees runs through vacation, sick pay, unemployment and health coverage. The gap in total social spending is smaller. Americans get much of their support through employers and the tax code rather than through government programs. When the OECD counts all three channels, U.S. social spending was the highest of the seven countries compared here in 2021 and second to France in 2019 ^[25][50], mostly because U.S. health care costs more, and more of it flows through employers ^[25][41]. The seven are the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, with the OECD average where one exists. They are three large European economies and three smaller ones, all reporting to the same OECD databases as the U.S., so most figures here share one source and one definition.

The scoreboard

The table puts one figure in each cell, with its year and source. The U.S. row shows federal law only. Paid leave that employers offer appears in the cell notes rather than in the number, and so do state programs ^[4]. A legal entitlement and an employer benefit are different things to a worker who changes jobs.

Shading shows how each country ranks against the other six in each column, from the most favorable to households to the least. It is not a score or a judgment of the policy, and the columns are not added up. The paid-vacation column is not ranked, because countries treat public holidays differently, and neither are the spending and tax columns. The OECD average is shown for reference, not ranked. Cells that are not ranked are hatched. Years differ by column, so read the year in each cell. Parental leave is in full-rate-equivalent weeks: weeks of leave times the share of average earnings the benefit replaces ^[1]. Ten weeks at half pay count as five.

Shading compares each country with the other 6 on each measure

• Among the most favorable to households
• More favorable than the middle
• Middle
• Less favorable than the middle
• Among the least favorable to households
• Not ranked

The rank under a value says the same: #1 is the most favorable to households, and equal figures share places ("#2-7" is a tie for second to seventh). Cells marked n/a are left out of the ranks. The OECD average is shown for reference, not ranked. Shading is not a score. The measures are not weighted or added up, and "favorable to households" is the end a household would pick for itself, not a judgment of the policy: a more generous benefit can cost more in taxes, which the shading does not weigh. Hatched cells are not ranked: the columns marked "not ranked" and the OECD average.

The table scrolls sideways; the country column stays in place.

Benefits by law and what they cost: the U.S., six European peers and the OECD average

Country	Time off			Family and education		Health		Safety net and retirement		Paying for it				Outcomes
	Paid vacation by law working days a year (five-day week), 2026 not ranked	Mothers' paid leave full-rate-equivalent weeks, 2025 higher favors households	Fathers' reserved leave full-rate-equivalent weeks, 2025 higher favors households	Family benefit spending percent of GDP, 2021 not ranked	Net childcare cost percent of household disposable income, 2025 lower favors households	Health coverage percent of population, 2024 higher favors households	Health spending per person US dollars per person, PPP, current prices, 2024 not ranked	Unemployment benefit percent of net household income before job loss, 2024 higher favors households	Pension replacement percent of net pre-retirement earnings, 2024 higher favors households	Public social spending percent of GDP, 2021 not ranked	Net social spending percent of GDP, 2021 not ranked	Tax wedge percent of labor costs, 2025 not ranked	Tax revenue percent of GDP, 2024 not ranked	Life expectancy years, 2024 higher favors households	Poverty rate percent of population, 2023 lower favors households
United States	0 daysa	0 weeksb#7, rank 7 of 7	0 weeksb#7, rank 7 of 7	1.0%c	23%d#7, rank 7 of 7	91.8%e#7, rank 7 of 7	$14,820f	33%g#6, rank 6 of 7	51.3%h#7, rank 7 of 7	21.6%i	33.2%j	30.0%k	25.6%l	79.0 yearsm#7, rank 7 of 7	18.1%n#7, rank 7 of 7
Germany	20 dayso	38 weeksp#1, rank 1 of 7	5 weeksq#4-5, tied for ranks 4 to 5 of 7	3.5%r	1%s#1, rank 1 of 7	99.9%#4-5, tied for ranks 4 to 5 of 7	$9,580t	60%u#3, rank 3 of 7	53.3%v#6, rank 6 of 7	28.9%w	28.5%x	49.3%y	38.0%z	81.2 years#6, rank 6 of 7	11.3%aa#5, rank 5 of 7
France	25 daysab	20 weeksac#4-5, tied for ranks 4 to 5 of 7	8 weeksad#3, rank 3 of 7	3.4%ae	8%af#3, rank 3 of 7	99.9%#4-5, tied for ranks 4 to 5 of 7	$7,430ag	68%ah#2, rank 2 of 7	70.0%ai#3, rank 3 of 7	32.7%aj	32.0%ak	47.2%al	43.5%am	83.0 years#2, rank 2 of 7	8.7%an#4, rank 4 of 7
United Kingdom	28 daysao	12 weeksap#6, rank 6 of 7	0.4 weeksaq#6, rank 6 of 7	2.1%ar	11%as#5, rank 5 of 7	100%#1-3, tied for ranks 1 to 3 of 7	$7,010at	12%au#7, rank 7 of 7	54.2%av#5, rank 5 of 7	24.4%aw	26.0%ax	32.4%ay	34.4%az	81.3 yearsba#5, rank 5 of 7	12.6%bb#6, rank 6 of 7
Netherlands	20 daysbc	22 weeksbd#3, rank 3 of 7	11 weeksbe#1-2, tied for ranks 1 to 2 of 7	1.9%bf	15%bg#6, rank 6 of 7	99.8%ba#6, rank 6 of 7	$8,700bh	74%bi#1, rank 1 of 7	96.0%bj#1, rank 1 of 7	19.8%bk	27.0%bl	35.9%bm	38.5%bn	81.9 years#4, rank 4 of 7	6.8%bo#2, rank 2 of 7
Denmark	25 daysbp	20 weeksbq#4-5, tied for ranks 4 to 5 of 7	5 weeksbr#4-5, tied for ranks 4 to 5 of 7	3.1%bs	10%af#4, rank 4 of 7	100%#1-3, tied for ranks 1 to 3 of 7	$7,400bt	59%bu#4, rank 4 of 7	77.1%bv#2, rank 2 of 7	28.1%bw	24.4%bx	35.8%by	45.2%bz	82.0 years#3, rank 3 of 7	6.3%ca#1, rank 1 of 7, data year 2022
Sweden	25 dayscb	34 weekscc#2, rank 2 of 7	11 weekscd#1-2, tied for ranks 1 to 2 of 7	3.3%ce	4%cf#2, rank 2 of 7	100%#1-3, tied for ranks 1 to 3 of 7	$7,910cg	54%ch#5, rank 5 of 7	66.3%ci#4, rank 4 of 7	26.3%cj	23.9%ck	41.1%cl	41.4%cm	83.8 years#1, rank 1 of 7	7.9%cn#3, rank 3 of 7, data year 2024
OECD average, for reference, not ranked	n/aco	n/acp	n/acq	2.3%cr	7%cs	n/act	n/act	55%cu	63.2%cv	22.1%cw	22.6%cx	35.1%cy	34.1%cz	n/act	n/act

Notes

• a No federal law: the FLSA does not require paid vacation (DOL). Through employers, 80% of private-industry workers had access to paid vacation in March 2026, and 55% of those in the lowest-paid quarter (BLS).
• b No federal paid leave. The FMLA gives eligible employees up to 12 workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave (DOL). Thirteen states and DC have paid family and medical leave programs (DOL Women's Bureau); OECD counts national law only.
• c Cash 0.05, services 0.57, tax breaks 0.37 (% of GDP). Without tax breaks (SOCX): 0.6%.
• d OECD model of one family, rounded to whole percent; 32% of an average wage. Fees are 24% of income; taxes lower the net cost by 1 point. The data file does not say which state or fee level the U.S. model uses.
• e 39.2% through government or compulsory insurance and 52.6% through primary voluntary insurance, in OECD's classification.
• f 17.2% of GDP. 2025 figures are provisional and not used.
• g Month 12: 0%. At 67% of the average wage: 47% in month 2. OECD model (TaxBEN). 2025: 38% (not yet published for every country). The data file does not say which state the U.S. model uses.
• h Gross: 39.7%. Mandatory schemes only.
• i 2019: 18.2%.
• j 2019: 29.2%. In 2021: mandatory private 5.4%, voluntary private 7.4%, net public 23.2% of GDP.
• k One-earner couple with two children: 19.6%. Employer health insurance premiums are not taxes and are not in the wedge.
• l Social security contributions: 6.0% of GDP.
• m NCHS also reports 79.0 years for 2024.
• n Children under 18: 21.1%.
• o BUrlG § 3: at least 24 Werktage, counted on a six-day week; 20 days on a five-day week. Collective agreements: 30 days on average in 2022 (Eurofound).
• p 58.0 weeks of paid leave at an average 65.9% of earnings (OECD). Germany's payment rate is based on net earnings.
• q 8.7 weeks of paid leave at an average 55.3% of earnings (OECD). Germany's payment rate is based on net earnings.
• r Cash 1.21, services 1.44, tax breaks 0.81 (% of GDP). Without tax breaks (SOCX): 2.6%.
• s OECD model of one family, rounded to whole percent; 1% of an average wage.
• t 12.2% of GDP. 2025 figures are provisional and not used.
• u Month 12: 60%. At 67% of the average wage: 60% in month 2. OECD model (TaxBEN).
• v Gross: 42.1%. Mandatory schemes only.
• w 2019: 26.4%.
• x 2019: 26.3%. In 2021: mandatory private 2.4%, voluntary private 1.2%, net public 27.2% of GDP.
• y One-earner couple with two children: 34.9%.
• z Social security contributions: 14.9% of GDP.
• aa Children under 18: 9.1%.
• ab Code du travail: 2.5 jours ouvrables a month, 30 a year (5 weeks, counted on a six-day week); 25 days on a five-day week. Collective agreements: 25 days on average in 2022 (Eurofound).
• ac 42.0 weeks of paid leave at an average 46.6% of earnings (OECD). France's payment rate is based on earnings after social contributions.
• ad 30.2 weeks of paid leave at an average 25.6% of earnings (OECD). France's payment rate is based on earnings after social contributions.
• ae Cash 1.30, services 1.35, tax breaks 0.73 (% of GDP). Without tax breaks (SOCX): 2.7%.
• af OECD model of one family, rounded to whole percent; 11% of an average wage.
• ag 11.3% of GDP. 2025 figures are provisional and not used.
• ah Month 12: 68%. At 67% of the average wage: 66% in month 2. OECD model (TaxBEN).
• ai Gross: 56.6%. Mandatory schemes only.
• aj 2019: 30.8%.
• ak 2019: 30.1%. In 2021: mandatory private 0.8%, voluntary private 2.8%, net public 28.6% of GDP.
• al One-earner couple with two children: 39.1%.
• am Social security contributions: 14.7% of GDP.
• an Children under 18: 12.0%.
• ao The statutory 5.6 weeks (28 days for a five-day worker) may include bank holidays, and bank holidays need not be given as paid leave (GOV.UK). England and Wales have 8 bank holidays in 2026 (GOV.UK), so if an employer counts them all, 20 leave days fall outside public holidays.
• ap 39.0 weeks of paid leave at an average 29.9% of earnings (OECD).
• aq 2.0 weeks of paid leave at an average 19.0% of earnings (OECD).
• ar Cash 1.05, services 0.98, tax breaks 0.04 (% of GDP). Without tax breaks (SOCX): 2.0%. OECD says U.K. spending is likely underestimated because the tax part of two tax credits had to be estimated.
• as OECD model of one family, rounded to whole percent; 15% of an average wage. OECD's 2026 figure is 7%.
• at 11.1% of GDP. 2025 figures are provisional and not used.
• au Month 12: 12%. At 67% of the average wage: 17% in month 2. OECD model (TaxBEN). At the average wage with housing benefit: 37% in month 2. 2025: 11% (not yet published for every country).
• av Gross: 44.7%. Mandatory schemes only.
• aw 2019: 22.3%.
• ax 2019: 24.1%. In 2021: mandatory private 0.6%, voluntary private 3.5%, net public 22.8% of GDP.
• ay One-earner couple with two children: 28.8%.
• az Social security contributions: 6.1% of GDP.
• ba OECD estimate.
• bb Children under 18: 15.8%.
• bc Four times the weekly working hours: 20 days full time. Eurofound's 2022 table also shows the statutory 20 days.
• bd 25.0 weeks of paid leave at an average 89.2% of earnings (OECD).
• be 15.0 weeks of paid leave at an average 75.5% of earnings (OECD).
• bf Cash 0.73, services 0.89, tax breaks 0.27 (% of GDP). Without tax breaks (SOCX): 1.6%.
• bg OECD model of one family, rounded to whole percent; 18% of an average wage.
• bh 10.1% of GDP. 2025 figures are provisional and not used.
• bi Month 12: 69%. At 67% of the average wage: 68% in month 2. OECD model (TaxBEN).
• bj Gross: 74.7%. Mandatory schemes only.
• bk 2019: 17.5%.
• bl 2019: 24.9%. In 2021: mandatory private 6.5%, voluntary private 4.9%, net public 17.4% of GDP.
• bm One-earner couple with two children: 28.5%.
• bn Social security contributions: 12.0% of GDP.
• bo Children under 18: 8.4%. 2024 (provisional): 7.9%.
• bp Ferieloven § 4: 5 weeks a year, earned at 2.08 days a month. Collective agreements: 30 days on average in 2022 (Eurofound).
• bq 41.0 weeks of paid leave at an average 49.7% of earnings (OECD).
• br 11.0 weeks of paid leave at an average 49.7% of earnings (OECD).
• bs Cash 1.19, services 1.96, tax breaks 0.00 (% of GDP). Without tax breaks (SOCX): 3.1%.
• bt 9.6% of GDP. 2025 figures are provisional and not used.
• bu Month 12: 50%. At 67% of the average wage: 85% in month 2. OECD model (TaxBEN).
• bv Gross: 72.7%. Mandatory schemes only.
• bw 2019: 28.7%.
• bx 2019: 25.0%. In 2021: mandatory private 1.9%, voluntary private 1.5%, net public 22.3% of GDP.
• by One-earner couple with two children: 26.6%.
• bz Social security contributions: 0.1% of GDP.
• ca Children under 18: 4.2%.
• cb Semesterlag § 4: 25 days. Collective agreements: 25 days on average in 2022 (Eurofound).
• cc 55.7 weeks of paid leave at an average 61.7% of earnings (OECD).
• cd 14.3 weeks of paid leave at an average 76.2% of earnings (OECD).
• ce Cash 1.27, services 2.05, tax breaks 0.00 (% of GDP). Without tax breaks (SOCX): 3.3%.
• cf OECD model of one family, rounded to whole percent; 5% of an average wage.
• cg 11.2% of GDP. 2025 figures are provisional and not used.
• ch Month 12: 46%. At 67% of the average wage: 72% in month 2. OECD model (TaxBEN). 2025: 52% (not yet published for every country).
• ci Gross: 63.7%. Mandatory schemes only.
• cj 2019: 26.3%.
• ck 2019: 23.6%. In 2021: mandatory private 0.6%, voluntary private 2.2%, net public 22.0% of GDP.
• cl One-earner couple with two children: 36.8%.
• cm Social security contributions: 9.0% of GDP.
• cn Children under 18: 8.4%.
• co OECD publishes no average of statutory minimum leave.
• cp OECD publishes no average in full-rate-equivalent weeks. Its average length of paid leave available to mothers is 54.9 weeks.
• cq OECD publishes no average in full-rate-equivalent weeks. Its average length of paid leave reserved for fathers is 13.4 weeks.
• cr "OECD Average" in PF1.1. Cash 1.15, services 0.99, tax breaks 0.21 (% of GDP). Without tax breaks (SOCX): 2.3%.
• cs OECD aggregate in the TaxBEN file. OECD model of one family, rounded to whole percent; 10% of an average wage.
• ct The OECD data API returns no OECD average for this measure.
• cu OECD aggregate in the TaxBEN file. Month 12: 32%. At 67% of the average wage: 63% in month 2. OECD model (TaxBEN). 2025: 54% (not yet published for every country).
• cv "OECD average country" in the Pensions at a Glance file. Gross: 52.0%. Mandatory schemes only. Women: 62.4%.
• cw 2019: 20.3%.
• cx 2019: 21.0%. In 2021: mandatory private 1.9%, voluntary private 1.6%, net public 20.0% of GDP.
• cy "OECD average country" in the Taxing Wages file. One-earner couple with two children: 26.2%.
• cz "OECD average country" in the Revenue Statistics file.

What each measure means

Time off

Statutory minimum paid annual leave

The least paid vacation national law requires an employer to give a full-time worker, in working days on a five-day week. Not shaded or ranked, because countries count public holidays differently: in the UK they may count toward the minimum and need not be paid; in Germany they are paid by law in addition (Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz § 2(1)). So the figures show each law's minimum leave days, not total paid time off. Collective agreements and employers often give more (see each note). ^{[2] [15] [58] [14] [59] [60] [16]}

Paid leave available to mothers

Paid maternity, parental and home care leave a mother can take under national law, as weeks at full pay: length in weeks times the average payment rate for a person earning the average wage (OECD PF2.1, rules as of April 2025). Employer top-ups and state or regional programs are not counted. ^[1]

Paid leave reserved for fathers

Paid paternity leave and paid parental leave that only the father can use, as weeks at full pay (OECD PF2.1, rules as of April 2025). ^[1]

Family and education

Public spending on family benefits, including tax breaks

Public cash benefits, services and tax breaks exclusively for families with children, 2021 (OECD Family Database PF1.1, from SOCX). ^[26]

Net childcare cost for a two-earner couple

What full-time center care for two children aged 2 and 3 costs a couple earning 100% and 67% of the average wage, after childcare benefits and tax credits, 2025. A model of one family under each country's rules (OECD TaxBEN), published rounded to whole percent. ^[27]

Health

Population covered for core health services

Share of the population covered by government or compulsory health insurance or primary voluntary health insurance for a core set of services, 2024 (OECD Health Statistics, TPRIBASI). ^[39]

Current health spending per person

Current health expenditure from all sources (public, insurance and out of pocket) per person, converted at purchasing power parities, 2024 (OECD System of Health Accounts). ^[41]

Safety net and retirement

Income kept in the second month of unemployment

Net household income in the second month out of work as a share of net income before, for a single person without children who earned the average wage, excluding social assistance and housing benefits, 2024 (OECD TaxBEN model). ^[46]

Net pension replacement rate, mandatory schemes

Net pension from mandatory schemes as a share of net earnings before retirement, for a man earning the average wage who enters the labor market at age 22 in 2024, under the pension measures already enacted or legislated (OECD Pensions at a Glance model). ^[49]

Paying for it

Gross public social spending

Public social expenditure before taxes on benefits and tax breaks, 2021 (OECD SOCX, ES10). 2021 is a pandemic year; 2019 is in each note. ^[25]

Net total social spending, public and private

Public plus mandatory and voluntary private social expenditure, after direct and indirect taxes on benefits and adding tax breaks for social purposes, 2021 (OECD SOCX, ES50). OECD publishes it for odd years only. ^[25]

Tax wedge, single worker at the average wage

Income tax plus employee and employer social security contributions and payroll taxes, less cash family benefits, as a share of total labor costs, single worker without children earning the average wage, 2025 (OECD Taxing Wages). Health insurance premiums are not taxes and are not included. ^[53]

Total tax revenue

Taxes collected by all levels of government, including social security contributions, 2024 (OECD Revenue Statistics). ^[54]

Outcomes

Life expectancy at birth

Years a newborn would live at the year's death rates, both sexes, 2024 (OECD Health Statistics). ^[42]

Relative poverty rate after taxes and transfers

Share of people living on less than half the national median disposable household income (adjusted for household size), latest final year for each country (OECD Income Distribution Database). A relative measure: it compares each country with its own median. ^[55]

Data table

The table above is the data: every figure as published, with its year where it differs from its column's (each heading gives the unit and the usual year) and its note. The CSV holds each value at full precision with its year, source and note.

Source: OECD (2026): Social expenditure aggregates (SOCX), PF2.1 Parental leave systems, PF1.1 Public spending on family benefits, Net childcare cost (TaxBEN), Healthcare coverage, Health expenditure and financing, Life expectancy, Net replacement rates in unemployment (TaxBEN), Pension replacement rates, Taxing Wages, Revenue Statistics and Income distribution database, OECD Data Explorer and OECD Family Database (accessed on Oct. 15, 2026; each is linked in the sources list); and national labor law. One source per cell: OECD tables and national labor law · retrieved Oct. 16, 2026 · 120 rows · as of Oct. 16, 2026 · annual. Download CSV

A life in two countries

The same comparison, arranged by stage of life. The United States stays on one side; choose a peer country to set beside it. Each entry gives the main figure, the rule behind it and its source.

Time off

Federal wage law does not require U.S. employers to pay for time not worked, apart from some federal contracts ^[2]. The Labor Department says vacations, sick leave and holidays “are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee” ^[2], and that “there are no federal legal requirements for paid sick leave” ^[3].

European Union law sets a floor of at least four weeks of paid annual leave for every worker, and it bars replacing that leave with cash except when a job ends ^[13]. Measured in working days on a five-day week, the 2022 statutory minimum was 20 days in Germany and the Netherlands and 25 in France, Denmark and Sweden ^[12]. The laws count days differently: Germany’s 24 days and France’s 30 are counted on a six-day week ^[15][58], while Sweden sets 25 days ^[16], the Netherlands four times the weekly working hours ^[59] and Denmark five weeks ^[60]. The United Kingdom guarantees 5.6 weeks, or 28 days for a five-day worker, but employers may count bank holidays toward it, and bank or public holidays “do not have to be given as paid leave” ^[14]. Collective agreements raise these floors: Eurofound puts average agreed leave in 2022 at 30 days in Germany and Denmark ^[12].

In the United States, the employer is the channel. In March 2026, 80% of private-industry workers had access to paid vacation, 81% to paid holidays and 81% to paid sick leave ^[8][9]. BLS counts a worker as having access when the benefit “is available for their use” ^[11]. It puts average paid vacation for private workers at 11 days after one year of service and 20 days after 20 years ^[10]. Access falls with pay and hours. Among the lowest-paid quarter of private workers, 55% had paid vacation and 61% had paid sick leave; among the highest-paid quarter, 94% and 95% did. Among part-time workers, 38% had paid vacation ^[8].

• 80%U.S. private workers with paid vacation, March 2026 ^[8]
• 81%With paid sick leave ^[8]
• 55%Lowest-paid quarter with paid vacation ^[8]
• 49%With paid family and medical leave ^[9]

State law adds to the federal floor. As of December 2024, 18 states and the District of Columbia had paid sick leave laws, and the Labor Department lists 13 states and the District with paid family and medical leave programs ^[4]. Federal employees have had up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave for births and placements since Oct. 1, 2020 ^[7].

For new parents, the OECD compares what national law guarantees. Under April 2025 rules, paid leave available to mothers ranged from 25 weeks in the Netherlands to 58 in Germany, and the OECD average was 54.9 weeks ^[1]. In full-pay weeks, the measure in the table above, they ranged from 38.2 in Germany to 11.7 in the U.K. ^[1]. Leave reserved for fathers, which a family loses if the father does not take it, is worth 11.3 full-pay weeks in the Netherlands and 10.9 in Sweden, but 0.4 in the U.K. ^[1]. These figures leave out what employers add on top, and they describe the rules, not how many parents use them ^[1].

Germany38.2 weeksSweden34.4 weeksNetherlands22.3 weeksDenmark20.4 weeksFrance19.6 weeksUnited Kingdom11.7 weeksUnited States0 weeks010203040 weeks

Data table

Country	Full-rate-equivalent weeks
United States	0.0
Germany	38.2
France	19.6
United Kingdom	11.7
Netherlands	22.3
Denmark	20.4
Sweden	34.4

Source: OECD (2026), PF2.1 Parental leave systems, OECD Family Database (accessed on Oct. 15, 2026). Data as of April 1, 2025. Download CSV

The U.S. figure is zero because the OECD counts only national law ^[1]. The Family and Medical Leave Act guarantees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave, but only to workers with 12 months at an employer, at least 1,250 hours of work in the past year, and a worksite with 50 employees within 75 miles ^[5]. In a 2018 Labor Department survey, 56% of employees met those tests. Of surveyed employees who had taken leave in the past year, 42% received full pay, 24% partial pay and 34% no pay ^[6]. BLS found that 49% of private-industry workers had access to paid family and medical leave in March 2026 ^[9].

Sick pay shows how differently countries split the bill between employers and social insurance. In Germany the employer pays for up to six weeks ^[17] and sickness insurance after that ^[18]; in the U.K. the employer pays statutory sick pay for up to 28 weeks ^[22]. We could not confirm Denmark’s rules from an official source, so it is not in this table.

Family and college

The U.S. Child Tax Credit is worth up to $2,200 per child for 2026, and up to $1,700 of it can be paid to families whose tax bill is smaller than the credit ^[29]. That refundable part requires at least $2,500 of earned income, and the full credit goes to filers with income up to $200,000, or $400,000 on a joint return ^[28]. European child allowances are cash paid monthly or quarterly, such as 259 euros per child a month in Germany ^[30]. France pays no family allowance for one child ^[31], and the Dutch benefit is paid after each quarter ^[62]. The table below lists the rest.

Public spending on families shows a wide gap. Counting cash benefits, services and tax breaks, the U.S. spent 0.99% of GDP on families in 2021, which the table rounds to 1.0%. The six peers spent from 1.9% in the Netherlands to 3.5% in Germany, and the OECD average was 2.35% ^[26]. The OECD puts the United States among the members spending “below 1% of GDP” ^[26]. Tax breaks made up 0.37 points of the U.S. figure; without them, U.S. spending was 0.6% of GDP ^[25][26].

Childcare shows the channel most clearly. The OECD models a couple with two children aged 2 and 3 in full-time center care, one parent earning the average wage and the other 67% of it. In 2025, that family’s net childcare cost was 23% of its disposable income in the United States, against 1% in Germany, 4% in Sweden, 8% in France, 10% in Denmark, 11% in the U.K. and 15% in the Netherlands. The OECD average was 7% ^[27]. For the U.S. family, fees came to 24% of income and tax credits returned 1 point ^[27].

• 23%U.S. net childcare cost, share of a two-earner family’s income, 2025 ^[27]
• 7%OECD average for the same family ^[27]
• 1%Germany, the lowest of the seven ^[27]

College follows the same pattern. No official source covers all seven, so the tuition figures below are national ones, in local currency and for different years. Average in-district tuition and required fees at U.S. public four-year institutions were $9,872 in 2023-24, before grants ^[34]. England caps standard full-time fees at 9,790 pounds for 2026-27 ^[35], French public universities charge 178 euros a year for a bachelor’s degree ^[36], and the Dutch statutory fee is 2,694 euros ^[37]. German state universities generally charge no tuition for a bachelor’s degree, though students pay a semester contribution of 70 to 430 euros, and Baden-Württemberg charges students from outside the EU 1,500 euros a semester ^[64]. Sweden and Denmark charge tuition only to students from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland ^[38][65].

Health care

Each of the six European countries covered at least 99.8% of its population for a core set of health services in 2024, according to the OECD; the United States covered 91.8% ^[39]. The Census Bureau counted 26.7 million people, 7.9% of the population, without insurance for all of 2025 ^[40]. Employer plans are the main U.S. channel: they covered 63.6% of adults aged 19 to 64 for some or all of 2025 ^[40].

The channel is less clear-cut than it sounds. The OECD’s health accounts file 83.1% of U.S. health spending in 2024 under government or compulsory schemes, close to Germany’s 85.9%, because they class 32.6% of it as compulsory private insurance ^[41]. The OECD’s coverage table classes the private coverage of 52.6% of Americans as voluntary ^[39]. The two OECD tables disagree on whether American employer insurance is compulsory.

Spending is where the U.S. stands apart. Current health spending was 17.2% of GDP in 2024, against 9.6% to 12.2% in the six peers. Per person it came to about $14,820 in dollars adjusted for purchasing power, more than 1.5 times Germany’s $9,580, the next highest ^[41].

Out-of-pocket costs look similar or different depending on the measure. Households paid 11.0% of U.S. health spending directly in 2024, within the European range of 10.2% in France to 14.6% in Denmark. In dollars, the U.S. figure was about $1,640 per person, against about $760 to $1,080 in the six peers ^[41].

Life expectancy at birth was 79.0 years in the United States in 2024 ^[42][43], the lowest of the seven, against 81.2 to 83.8 years in the six peers ^[42]. The OECD also sorts avoidable deaths into “preventable” and “treatable” causes; in 2019, before the pandemic, the U.S. had the most of both ^[44].

Losing a job and retiring

Unemployment insurance in the United States is set by each state. As of July 1, 2026, most states paid regular benefits for up to 26 weeks and Massachusetts for up to 30 ^[47]. Several paid fewer: up to 14 weeks in Alabama, 12 in Arkansas and Florida, and at most 12 weeks’ worth in North Carolina, which caps total benefits at 12 times the weekly amount. In some states the limit moves with the state’s unemployment rate, in Tennessee between 12 and 20 weeks ^[47]. In the second quarter of 2026, the average weekly benefit was $500.61, recipients drew benefits for 15.8 weeks on average, and the exhaustion rate was 39.3% ^[48]. About 1.7 million people were claiming regular state benefits that quarter, out of 7.1 million unemployed ^[48].

The OECD models what a laid-off worker keeps under each country’s rules. For a single worker who earned the average wage, U.S. benefits replace 33% of previous net income in the second month of unemployment and nothing by the 12th; in five of the six peers, benefits still replace 46% or more in month 12 ^[46]. For the U.K. the model gives 12% in both months at the average wage, or 37% with housing benefit; for a worker who earned 67% of the average wage, it gives 53% with housing benefit ^[46]. The model applies one set of rules to each country, and U.S. benefits vary by state ^[47].

For retirement, the OECD estimates the pension from mandatory schemes for a worker earning the average wage who entered the labor market at 22 in 2024, as a share of net pre-retirement earnings ^[49]. The U.S. figure is 51.3%, close to Germany and the U.K. and below the OECD average of 63.2% ^[49]. These figures leave out voluntary saving.

Who pays

The six European countries raise more in taxes to pay for their guarantees. Total tax revenue in 2024 was 25.6% of GDP in the United States, against 34.4% in the U.K. to 45.2% in Denmark, and an OECD average of 34.1% ^[54].

Most of the gap is not income tax. U.S. personal income tax revenue was 10.3% of GDP, about the same as in Germany (10.1%), the U.K. (10.8%) and Sweden (11.3%) ^[54]. The difference is in taxes on consumption and payroll. The U.S. has no value-added tax, while VAT raised 6.9% to 9.1% of GDP in the six peers ^[54]. All U.S. taxes on goods and services came to 4.1% of GDP, against 10.0% to 12.3% in the peers ^[54]. Social security contributions raised 6.0% of GDP in the U.S., against 14.9% in Germany and 14.7% in France ^[54]. VAT is charged on everyday purchases and social contributions on wages, so both reach households at every income level. Contributions have two exceptions: the U.K. raised 6.1% of GDP from them, about the same as the U.S., and Denmark collects almost none and raises 25.2% of GDP through personal income tax instead ^[54].

The OECD’s tax wedge counts income tax, employee and employer social contributions and payroll taxes, minus cash family benefits, as a share of what a worker costs the employer ^[53]. For a single worker earning the average wage in 2025, the wedge was 30.0% in the U.S., the lowest of the seven, against 49.3% in Germany and an OECD average of 35.1%. For a one-earner couple with two children, the U.S. wedge was 19.6%, against an OECD average of 26.2% ^[53].

United States, single worker30.0%United States, one-earner couple, two children19.6%Germany, single worker49.3%Germany, one-earner couple, two children34.9%France, single worker47.2%France, one-earner couple, two children39.1%United Kingdom, single worker32.4%United Kingdom, one-earner couple, two children28.8%Netherlands, single worker35.9%Netherlands, one-earner couple, two children28.5%Denmark, single worker35.8%Denmark, one-earner couple, two children26.6%Sweden, single worker41.1%Sweden, one-earner couple, two children36.8%OECD average, single worker35.1%OECD average, one-earner couple, two children26.2%0%20%40%60%

Data table

Country and household	Tax wedge (% of labor costs)
United States, single worker	30.0
United States, one-earner couple, two children	19.6
Germany, single worker	49.3
Germany, one-earner couple, two children	34.9
France, single worker	47.2
France, one-earner couple, two children	39.1
United Kingdom, single worker	32.4
United Kingdom, one-earner couple, two children	28.8
Netherlands, single worker	35.9
Netherlands, one-earner couple, two children	28.5
Denmark, single worker	35.8
Denmark, one-earner couple, two children	26.6
Sweden, single worker	41.1
Sweden, one-earner couple, two children	36.8
OECD average, single worker	35.1
OECD average, one-earner couple, two children	26.2

Source: OECD (2026), Labour taxation, OECD comparative country indicators (Taxing Wages), OECD Data Explorer (accessed on Oct. 15, 2026). retrieved Oct. 15, 2026 · 16 rows · as of 2025 · annual. Download CSV

The wedge, as the OECD describes it, does not include health insurance premiums ^[53]. KFF, a nonpartisan health research group, puts the average 2026 premium for employer family coverage at $28,303, of which workers pay $7,471 directly, in its own annual survey of employers. For single coverage the figures are $9,804 and $1,672 ^[45]. A federal survey of employers, the Insurance Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, published by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, has its own figures for 2025. At private-sector employers, it puts the average family premium at $26,281, with workers paying $7,314, and the single premium at $9,025, with workers paying $1,817 ^[66]. The two are separate surveys, for different years, so their figures differ. The employer pays the rest, as part of the cost of the job.

In 2026, 67% of firms with 10 or more workers offer health benefits, up from 61% in 2025 ^[45]. KFF notes that this rate can swing from year to year, because most firms are small ^[45]. Overall, 92% of workers are employed by a firm that offers health benefits to at least some of its workers ^[45].

The broadest view of who pays comes from the OECD’s social expenditure database, which counts spending more than one way. Gross public social spending, the usual headline, was 21.6% of GDP in the United States in 2021. That was below the OECD average of 22.1% and below every peer but the Netherlands, at 19.8% ^[25]. The OECD’s net total measure adds private social spending, both mandatory and voluntary, and accounts for the effects of the tax system ^[52]. On that basis the U.S. figure was 33.2% of GDP, the highest of the seven, ahead of France at 32.0% ^[25][50]. The U.S. is also the only one of the seven whose net public spending (23.2% of GDP) is higher than its gross public spending ^[25].

Health care accounts for much of the U.S. total. Counting public and private sources together, before the tax adjustments, U.S. social spending on health came to 15.8% of GDP in 2021, against 7.1% to 11.2% in the six peers. All other social spending came to 18.6% of GDP in the U.S., against 18.2% to 25.1% in the peers, the second lowest of the seven ^[25]. The OECD publishes no net figure by program.

2021 was a pandemic year, so the chart shows 2019 beside it. In 2019, U.S. gross public spending was 18.2% of GDP ^[51], and net total spending was 29.2%, second to France at 30.1% ^[50].

United States (2019)29.2%United States (2021)33.2%Germany (2019)26.3%Germany (2021)28.5%France (2019)30.1%France (2021)32.0%United Kingdom (2019)24.1%United Kingdom (2021)26.0%Netherlands (2019)24.9%Netherlands (2021)27.0%Denmark (2019)25.0%Denmark (2021)24.4%Sweden (2019)23.6%Sweden (2021)23.9%OECD average (2019)21.0%OECD average (2021)22.6%0%10%20%30%40%

Data table

Country (year)	Net total social spending (% of GDP)
United States (2019)	29.2
United States (2021)	33.2
Germany (2019)	26.3
Germany (2021)	28.5
France (2019)	30.1
France (2021)	32.0
United Kingdom (2019)	24.1
United Kingdom (2021)	26.0
Netherlands (2019)	24.9
Netherlands (2021)	27.0
Denmark (2019)	25.0
Denmark (2021)	24.4
Sweden (2019)	23.6
Sweden (2021)	23.9
OECD average (2019)	21.0
OECD average (2021)	22.6

Source: OECD (2026), Social expenditure aggregates (SOCX), OECD Data Explorer (accessed on Oct. 15, 2026). retrieved Oct. 15, 2026 · 16 rows · as of 2021 · annual. Download CSV

Net spending is not the same as a guarantee. Voluntary private spending came to 7.4% of GDP in the U.S. in 2021 and mandatory private spending to 5.4% ^[25]. Voluntary spending depends on having an employer that offers it.

What it buys

Poverty is lower in all six peers. The OECD counts people as poor when their disposable income is below half of their country’s median. By that measure, 18.1% of Americans were poor in 2023, and 21.1% of children ^[55]. In the six peers, in each country’s latest final year (2022 to 2024), the rate ranged from 6.3% in Denmark to 12.6% in the U.K., and child poverty from 4.2% in Denmark to 15.8% in the U.K. ^[55]. The measure compares incomes within a country, not how high they are.

Incomes are higher in the United States. By our calculation from OECD data, median disposable household income, adjusted for household size, was about $49,900 in the U.S. in 2023 ^[55]. That is the highest of the seven. The others ranged from about $47,000 in the Netherlands to $35,100 in the U.K. ^[55]. A median income does not show what a household then pays directly for health care, childcare or college.

How we calculated this

We divided each country’s median equivalized disposable income in national currency by the OECD’s purchasing power parity for private consumption for the same year, both from the OECD’s income distribution database ^[55], and rounded to the nearest $100. The U.S. value needs no conversion. We use 2023 for every country but Denmark, whose latest year is 2022, so that six of the seven share a year; Sweden also has a 2024 figure. These are not OECD figures, and the health spending figures above use a different conversion, so the two are never combined.

• $49,900U.S. median disposable income, 2023, the highest of the seven (our calculation) ^[55]
• 18.1%U.S. relative poverty rate, 2023, the highest of the seven ^[55]
• 79.0U.S. life expectancy at birth, 2024, the lowest of the seven ^[42]

The strongest case for the American approach

Take-home pay comes first. The U.S. tax wedge on an average single worker is the lowest of the seven ^[53], there is no national VAT ^[54], and the median household has the most disposable income, by our calculation ^[55]. On this view, households can then buy the coverage and time off they value most, rather than a package set in law.

U.S. social spending is also larger than the usual headline shows. Counting private and tax-system spending, the OECD’s net measure put the United States first of the seven in 2021 and second in 2019 ^[25][50], though much of that is health care ^[25].

Accounting for the effect of the tax system and private social expenditure leads to greater similarity in social expenditure-to-GDP ratios across countries and to a reassessment of the magnitude of welfare states.

Employers already offer paid vacation and sick leave to about four in five private workers ^[8], with terms that vary by occupation and firm. A national mandate would set one design for all of them, and long leaves are hard for some employers to cover: in the 2018 Labor Department survey, 29% of worksites said planned long-term leave was “very difficult” to deal with ^[6].

Generous leave can also carry costs for the workers it aims to help. In a 2013 NBER working paper, economists Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn found that family-friendly policies abroad “appear to encourage part-time work and employment in lower level positions” ^[56]. They also found that “US women are more likely than women in other countries to have full time jobs and to work as managers or professionals” ^[56].

The case also holds that U.S. health outcomes depend on more than medical care. The U.S. excess is larger for deaths the OECD calls preventable, 177 per 100,000 in 2019 against 92 to 124 in the peers, than for deaths it calls treatable, 90 against 49 to 71 ^[44]. And households paid about the same share of health spending out of pocket in the U.S. (11.0%) as in Germany (11.1%) ^[41].

The strongest case for the European approach

A legal right goes with the worker; an employer benefit stays with the job, and in the U.S. it tracks pay, from 61% of the lowest-paid quarter of private workers with paid sick leave to 95% of the highest-paid quarter ^[8]. Many U.S. workers who take leave go unpaid: in the 2018 Labor Department survey, 34% of employees who had taken leave received no pay ^[6].

Two-thirds of employees surveyed who received partial or no pay while on leave reported experiencing financial difficulty

Paid leave also changes what parents do. In a 2011 NBER working paper, Maya Rossin-Slater, Christopher Ruhm and Jane Waldfogel found that California’s state program “more than doubled the overall use of maternity leave,” with especially large gains for less advantaged mothers ^[57]. They also found “suggestive evidence” that it raised employed mothers’ usual weekly hours ^[57]. Blau and Kahn, in the paper cited above, estimate that the spread of family-friendly policies in other countries “explains 28-29% of the decrease in US women’s labor force participation relative to these other countries” ^[56].

The U.S. pays the most for health care of the seven and has the lowest life expectancy and the most treatable deaths ^[41][42][44]. Every peer covers nearly everyone ^[39], while 26.7 million Americans went uninsured for all of 2025 ^[40].

The case also points to the safety net. In the OECD’s model, a laid-off U.S. worker on the average wage keeps nothing by month 12 ^[46], and U.S. relative poverty, for all ages and for children, is the highest of the seven ^[55]. Part of the American income advantage also goes to costs Europeans meet through taxes, such as the $7,471 a covered worker pays, on average, toward employer family coverage in 2026 ^[45].

On balance

We think the evidence shows that, by the OECD’s broadest measure, U.S. social spending is at or near the top of these seven countries, mostly because U.S. health care costs more, and more of it flows through employers; outside health care, U.S. spending, counted before taxes, is among the lowest. Where the systems differ most is in who carries the risk. The European systems charge households more in tax and give workers a legal floor that does not depend on the employer, with lower relative poverty. The American system leaves more income with households and more of the design with employers, and gives less to workers without a generous employer or without a job. Which trade is better depends on how a reader weighs take-home pay and choice against a guaranteed floor, and the evidence here does not settle that.

What would change the picture

State law can also change what U.S. workers get. Besides the 13 states and the District of Columbia with paid family and medical leave programs, three states have voluntary ones ^[4]. A new state program would widen coverage for the workers it reaches, though the OECD’s national comparison would not count it ^[1].

Congress sets the Child Tax Credit, $2,200 per child for 2026 ^[29], and the pension figures describe rules legislated for workers starting in 2024 ^[49]; a change to either would move these numbers. The OECD’s net social spending series ends in 2021 and covers odd years only ^[50]. A 2023 figure would show whether the U.S. stays at the top outside the pandemic.

How we compared the countries

Net total social spending is an OECD estimate; we found no independent estimate for 2021. The OECD’s own earlier estimates, for 2007, put France and Belgium first, at 30% of GDP at factor cost, with the U.S. among a group from 22% to 28% ^[52].

Years differ by measure: leave rules as of April 2025 ^[1], social spending for 2019 and 2021 ^[25][50], health for 2024 ^[41], taxes for 2024 and 2025 ^[53][54], employer health premiums for 2026 and 2025 ^[45][66], and poverty for 2022 to 2024 ^[55].

Leave figures for each country describe national law. U.S. employer figures come from the BLS National Compensation Survey, a sample survey of employers, and measure access, not use ^[9]. The OECD’s leave figures leave out state programs and employer top-ups, and it warns that Germany’s and France’s payment rates, based on net earnings, should not be compared directly with the others ^[1].

Unemployment replacement rates, tax wedges, net childcare costs and pension replacement rates are OECD models of example households under each country’s rules ^{[27][46][49][53]}. They have no sampling error and change with the earnings level and family type chosen.

Pensions are from mandatory schemes only. The OECD file’s figures that add voluntary schemes were not internally consistent, so they are left out. We could not read the OECD’s definition of mandatory schemes, so we do not say how much of the Dutch and Danish figures comes from workplace pensions.

Left out: housing and disability benefits, and countries outside these seven. Tuition, child allowances and enrollment of children under 3 are not in the scoreboard, because no comparable official figure covering all seven was available to us. Denmark’s sick pay rules are left out of the sick pay table for the same reason.