Credit: Moorepay
On Wednesday 10 September 2025, Payroll and Human Resources firm Moorepay published research which showed Luxembourg ranked seventh in the world for maternity pay.
According to the firm, the Luxembourg Government offers up to €26,201 ($30,040) in maternity pay, placing it above neighbouring countries Belgium (€8,120), France (€9,822) and Germany (€10,135).
To compare these allowances with those of other countries around the world, Moorepay reviewed the statutory legislation in each country to determine the duration and payment rates of maternity leave. They then calculated the average value of maternity leave in each country in the local currency based on the national average income, with data taken from the World Bank.
To make a fair comparison, Moorepay converted these local figures into international dollars using the Purchasing Power Parity conversion factors for each country. The international dollar is a hypothetical currency the World Bank uses to create a realistic comparison of the buying power of local currencies and reflects “the comparable amount of goods and services a US dollar would buy in the United States”.
According to Moorepay’s research, the highest level of maternity pay recorded was from Norway. In absolute terms, the government offers up to 663,132 krone, which converts directly to $65,917. However, in Norway, one could use this amount to pay for goods and services which would cost $73,955 in the US. Hence, the latter figure represents Norway’s maximum maternity pay in international dollars.
In the European Union (EU), four countries ranked higher than Luxembourg: Romania (2nd - 91,543 RON/$49,777); Finland (4th - €37,038/$46,952); Sweden (5th - 391,200 SEK/$44,358); and Slovenia (6th - €20,576/$35,846).
In terms of the lowest ranking countries, the United States, South Africa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea feature at the bottom of the rankings as none of these countries offer statutory maternity pay.
Credit: Moorepay
