Which countries get the most paid vacation days?

November 17, 2022 Alex

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After decades of social evolution and improvements to work-life balance, contradicting pressures are fragmenting the work world’s method of paid leave.

Companies struggling to attract talent are paying employees more, leaving businesses understaffed but with a steep payroll to meet and an unwillingness to give time off. In 2022, only 35 percent of American companies offer paid maternity leave–a shocking drop from 53 percent just 2 years ago, according to a study from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). For paid paternity leave, the drop is from 44 to 27 percent in the same period.

Meanwhile, employees persist in suffering the health and mental health fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic provoked a 25 percent rise in depression and anxiety worldwide. Today, the labor pool is adapting to post-lockdown conditions – whether returning to the workplace, adapting to a permanent Work-From-Home or hybrid situation, or reconsidering things entirely in light of lay-offs, corporate changes, and the volatile financial landscape.

And governments are stepping in to keep a balance. Around the globe, some are mandating paid leave for the sick and even for sufferers of domestic violence, while others resist pressure to add annual bank holidays to the calendar.

Knowing your rights and managing your time with care makes sense in these unstable situations. So, Resume.io has uncovered how much paid annual leave and how many public holidays are available in every nation worldwide–and how paid vacation days to compare in total from one place to another.

What They Did: Resume.io reviewed the annual statutory paid leave and paid public holidays laws in 197 countries, referring to gov websites, the OECD, the International Labour Organization, etc. They then ranked the countries based on the combined number of statutory paid leave days and paid public holidays per year.

Table of Contents

Key Findings
Which Countries Get the Most Paid Vacation Days Overall?
- Top 25 Countries With The Most Overall Paid Vacation Days
- Bottom 25 Countries With The Least Overall Paid Vacation Days
Which Countries Get the Most Paid Public Holidays?
- Top 25 Countries With The Most Paid Public Holidays
- Bottom 25 Countries With The Least Paid Public Holidays
Which Countries Get the Most Paid Leave Days?
- Top 25 Countries With The Most Paid Leave Days
- Bottom 25 Countries With The Least Paid Leave Days
Methodology

Key Findings

Iran has the most public holidays (27) worldwide, and the most paid vacation days overall (53).
There are 23 nations with 30 days of paid leave per year, the highest number of paid leave available.
The U.S. is the country with the joint fewest days of paid leave (0) and the second lowest number of paid vacation days in the world (10)

Which Countries Get the Most Paid Vacation Days Overall?

Some European and African countries, such as San Marino (46 days) and Togo (43 days), offer some of the most generous holiday schemes for their workers. This is in sharp contrast to the United States, where there is no federal or state minimum allowance for paid holidays or public holidays. But when looking at which country gets the most paid vacation days overall, Iran comes up top, offering a grand total of 53 days, split pretty evenly between paid annual leave and paid public holidays.

Top 25 Countries With The Most Overall Paid Vacation Days

Country	Continent	Total Paid Vacation Days
Iran	Middle East & Central Asia	53
San Marino	Europe	46
Yemen	Middle East & Central Asia	45
Andorra	Europe	44
Bhutan	Rest of Asia and Oceania	44
Bahrain	Middle East & Central Asia	44
Togo	Africa	43
Niger	Africa	43
Madagascar	Africa	43
Monaco	Europe	42
Kuwait	Middle East & Central Asia	42
Turkmenistan	Middle East & Central Asia	42
Azerbaijan	Middle East & Central Asia	42
Mali	Africa	42
Peru	South America	42
Russia	Europe	42
Maldives	Middle East & Central Asia	41
Equatorial Guinea	Africa	41
Georgia	Europe	41
Panama	North America	41
Guinea	Africa	41
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	Africa	41
Algeria	Africa	41
Iceland	Europe	40
Djibouti	Africa	40

Bottom 25 Countries With The Least Overall Paid Vacation Days

Country	Continent	Total Paid Vacation Days
Micronesia (Federated States of)	Rest of Asia and Oceania	9
Nauru	Rest of Asia and Oceania	10
United States of America	North America	10
Palau	Rest of Asia and Oceania	12
Kiribati	Rest of Asia and Oceania	13
Mexico	North America	14
China	Rest of Asia and Oceania	16
Lebanon	Middle East & Central Asia	17
Philippines	Rest of Asia and Oceania	17
Nigeria	Africa	17
Taiwan	Rest of Asia and Oceania	17
Brunei	Rest of Asia and Oceania	18
Singapore	Rest of Asia and Oceania	18
Tunisia	Africa	18
India	Rest of Asia and Oceania	18
Malaysia	Rest of Asia and Oceania	19
Canada	North America	19
Thailand	Rest of Asia and Oceania	19
Samoa	Rest of Asia and Oceania	20
Bahamas	North America	20
Fiji	Rest of Asia and Oceania	20
Chile	South America	20
Tanzania	Africa	20
Jamaica	North America	21

Which Countries Get the Most Paid Public Holidays?

In Iran, workers enjoy more paid public holidays than those working in other countries. Their many public holidays are in honor of national and religious events, such as the Anniversary of the Iranian Revolution and Islamic Republic Day – with a grand total of 27 days recognized as paid public holidays. Bangladeshi workers receive a similarly generous amount of 24 paid public holidays. These include Islamic religious holidays, such as Eid al-Fitr, to mark the end of Ramadan.

Top 25 Countries With The Most Paid Public Holidays

Country	Continent	Statutory (paid) public holidays
Iran	Middle East & Central Asia	27
Bangladesh	Rest of Asia and Oceania	24
Azerbaijan	Middle East & Central Asia	21
Cambodia	Rest of Asia and Oceania	21
San Marino	Europe	20
Myanmar	Rest of Asia and Oceania	20
Guyana	South America	19
Kazakhstan	Middle East & Central Asia	19
Iraq	Middle East & Central Asia	18
Colombia	South America	18
Timor Leste	Rest of Asia and Oceania	17
Georgia	Europe	17
Tanzania	Africa	17
Iceland	Europe	16
Trinidad and Tobago	North America	16
Jordan	Middle East & Central Asia	16
Sri Lanka	Rest of Asia and Oceania	16
Argentina	South America	16
Japan	Rest of Asia and Oceania	16
Indonesia	Rest of Asia and Oceania	16
Latvia	Europe	15
Lithuania	Europe	15
Slovakia	Europe	15
Burundi	Africa	15
Burkina Faso	Africa	15

Bottom 25 Countries With The Least Paid Public Holidays

Country	Continent	Statutory (paid) public holidays
Libya	Africa	0
Lebanon	Middle East & Central Asia	2
India	Rest of Asia and Oceania	3
Chad	Africa	4
Chile	South America	5
Greece	Europe	6
Tunisia	Africa	6
Mauritania	Africa	7
Australia	Rest of Asia and Oceania	7
Marshall Islands	Rest of Asia and Oceania	8
Sao Tome and Principe	Africa	8
Montenegro	Europe	8
Botswana	Africa	8
Eritrea	Africa	8
Laos	Rest of Asia and Oceania	8
Sudan	Africa	8
United Kingdom	Europe	8
Mexico	North America	8
Palestine	Middle East & Central Asia	8
Micronesia (Federated States of)	Rest of Asia and Oceania	9
Solomon Islands	Rest of Asia and Oceania	9
Comoros	Africa	9
Guinea-Bissau	Africa	9
Ireland (Republic of)	Europe	9
Oman	Middle East & Central Asia	9

Which Countries Get the Most Paid Leave Days?

Situated on the glamorous French Riviera and arguably one of the wealthiest places in the world, Monaco’s employees receive 30 days of paid leave. While several countries share this amount, including Libya and Peru, Monaco’s maternity leave allowance may be one reason for the high figure. In 2019, the nation increased it from 16 to 18 weeks for mothers-to-be in the private sector.

Top 25 Countries With The Most Paid Leave Days

Country	Continent	Maximum statutory annual paid leave days
Monaco	Europe	30
Marshall Islands	Rest of Asia and Oceania	30
Andorra	Europe	30
Maldives	Middle East & Central Asia	30
Bhutan	Rest of Asia and Oceania	30
Comoros	Africa	30
Djibouti	Africa	30
Equatorial Guinea	Africa	30
Bahrain	Middle East & Central Asia	30
Kuwait	Middle East & Central Asia	30
Panama	North America	30
Oman	Middle East & Central Asia	30
Turkmenistan	Middle East & Central Asia	30
Libya	Africa	30
Togo	Africa	30
Guinea	Africa	30
Mali	Africa	30
Niger	Africa	30
Madagascar	Africa	30
Yemen	Middle East & Central Asia	30
Peru	South America	30
Algeria	Africa	30
Moldova	Europe	28
Russia	Europe	28
Scotland	Europe	28

Bottom 25 Countries With The Least Paid Leave Days

Country	Continent	Minimum statutory annual paid leave days
Nauru	Rest of Asia and Oceania	0
Micronesia (Federated States of)	Rest of Asia and Oceania	0
Kiribati	Rest of Asia and Oceania	0
United States of America	North America	0
Palau	Rest of Asia and Oceania	1
Tanzania	Africa	3
Philippines	Rest of Asia and Oceania	5
China	Rest of Asia and Oceania	5
Thailand	Rest of Asia and Oceania	6
Mexico	North America	6
Nigeria	Africa	6
Brunei	Rest of Asia and Oceania	7
Singapore	Rest of Asia and Oceania	7
Taiwan	Rest of Asia and Oceania	7
Malaysia	Rest of Asia and Oceania	8
Grenada	North America	10
Samoa	Rest of Asia and Oceania	10
Bahamas	North America	10
Belize	North America	10
Fiji	Rest of Asia and Oceania	10
Trinidad and Tobago	North America	10
Jamaica	North America	10
Liberia	Africa	10
Honduras	North America	10
Cuba	North America	10

Methodology

The Resume.io team reviewed data on laws governing annual statutory paid public holidays and paid leave days in 197 nations. Countries were ranked based on the combined number of statutory paid public holidays and paid leave days per year.

Data on leave laws got from different government websites: the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Global Expansion, the International Labour Organization, WageIndicator Foundation, Papaya Global, Skuad, and multiple news reports and press releases.

Statutory leave laws were normalized to estimate the minimum number of paid vacation days assigned for workers working a 5-day, full-time workweek with minimum tenure. In cases where employees with longer tenure are privileged to more vacation days, the team listed the number of paid vacation days an employee can receive after working at the same firm for one year.

Holidays were also standardized to the 5-day, full-time workweek. Only holidays that commonly fall on a weekday, or holidays that warrant a paid day off on the following Monday when having fallen on a weekend, were counted. In cases where the holiday calendar varies yearly, they considered a “usual number” of paid holidays that workers are commonly allowed off.

Nations with no laws governing minimum paid annual leave were classified as having zero days of statutory paid leave.