Costs of bringing up a child across Europe, compared

Having children is something that can totally turn your life upside down, but depending on the country you live in, your experience might be very different. In some countries, working parents are legally entitled to a much more generous parental leave package, in terms of both the length of time off and the amount of pay they can expect. Other factors include the cost of childcare and the benefits that parents are entitled to.

At Ubuy Luxembourg, we wanted to compare these factors to draw up a top 20 list of European countries where parents receive the most benefits and pay the least for childcare. We also compared the 5 countries with the lowest scores.

Methodology

We compared 31 different countries in Europe, based on countries with data available, giving each a score from 0 to 100 for maternity leave, paternity leave, childcare costs and financial benefits for parents. We used statistics from Numbeo and the OECD Family Database.

The scores for maternity leave and paternity leave were created by comparing the average length of leave and average payment rate for mothers and fathers, as well as the additional home care leave available to parents and its payment rate.

Childcare costs were weighed against any reductions and rebates available in each country, and the average cost of a month’s preschool or kindergarten attendance in each country was compared.

The financial benefits available for three types of household in each country were compared: single-parent, single-earner; two-parent, single-earner; and two-parent, two-earner.

Each country’s overall score was created by working out the average score across the four categories.

The top ten

Slovakia

Slovakia landed in the top spot in our list. This country offers mothers 34 weeks of maternity leave, which is the fourth longest offer out of all the countries, paid at an average rate of 75% of their earnings from the previous year. Mothers can also access 130 weeks of home care leave, paid at 33.4%. Fathers only get 2 weeks of paternity leave, paid at 75% on average - but they are also entitled to 26 weeks of home care leave, paid at the same rate, which is a better offer than many other countries in the list.

Our research found that childcare costs 12% of an individual’s average earnings, and a month of full day’s attendance at preschool or kindergarten for one child would cost €562.50 on average. This is an above average level of cost, but it’s balanced out by the other factors, such as financial benefits. For instance, a single parent family could receive up to 26.7% of average earnings in the country back as benefits, if they earn an average income - the fourth highest offer across all the countries we looked at.

Luxembourg

Luxembourg is next, another country with highly family-friendly policies. Maternity leave is 20 weeks, paid at 100%, and mothers can also access 26 weeks of home care leave paid at 71.1% on average. Again, like Slovakia, paternity leave is only 2 weeks but here, it is paid at 100%. Fathers can then access 26 weeks of home care leave, paid at 71.1%.

Childcare fees would cost a very high 51% of the average person’s earnings, if it were not for deductions, rebates and benefits that cut it down by 35%. The price of a month of full day preschool or kindergarten is €1400.00. Benefits are 13.9% of the average earnings, whether they work full time or part time, and whatever their salary.

Estonia

In third place, we have Estonia. In this country, maternity leave is 14 weeks paid at a rate of 100% of the mother’s earnings from the previous year. There’s also a further 67.9 weeks of parental and home care leave available to mothers, at the same rate. Fathers can access the fourth longest paternity leave out of all the countries we looked at, 4.3 weeks at 100% pay - however, no further home care leave is reserved for dads in this country.

Childcare fees cost 9% of an individual’s earnings on average, with 2% of that taken off by rebates, benefits and deductions. It costs €484.00 a month to place your child in kindergarten or preschool in Estonia.

Benefits vary in this country - a single parent household, earning middle income, can access 23.7% of the average earnings as benefits. For two parent households, this drops to 8.4%.

Poland

Next up is Poland in joint third place with Estonia. Like in Luxembourg, working mothers can access 20 weeks of fully paid maternity leave - with a further 32 weeks of home care leave available, paid at 63.4% on average. Paternity leave is fully paid for 2 weeks, with a further 9 weeks of home care leave available for fathers, which is paid at 70%.

In Poland, childcare costs 13% of the average income, but it can be reduced by 3% with deductions and rebates. The cost of preschool or kindergarten for a month, €363.09, is the eighth lowest in the list. This country has the highest benefits for a single parent middle income family, at 36.5% of average earnings in Poland. Two parent families are eligible for benefits worth 11% of the country’s average earnings.

Romania

In fourth place, it’s Romania. This country offers 18 weeks of maternity leave, paid at 85%, as well as a further 86.3 weeks of home care leave for mothers, which is also paid at 85% of their earnings. Fathers are entitled to 2 weeks of fully paid paternity leave, and 8.7 weeks of home care leave, which is paid at 85%.

Coming in exactly the same as Poland, childcare fees would cost 13% of an individual’s income. However, unlike Poland, 0% of this can be claimed back through rebates or deductions. A month’s worth of full day kindergarten or preschool costs €410.99.

In terms of benefits, a single parent who earns a middle income can receive 10.7% of the average earnings as family benefits. Two parent families are entitled to a lower rate, 4.8%.

Austria

In Austria, working mothers can access 16 weeks of maternity leave, fully paid. There’s also a further 44 weeks of home care leave they can use, which is paid at 80%. Fathers can have 4.3 weeks of paternity leave, which is alongside Estonia the joint fourth highest amount on offer. However, unlike in Estonia it’s not fully paid - the average rate of payment is 56.6%. Fathers can also access a further 8.7 weeks of home care leave, paid at 80%.

This is the third most affordable country on the list in terms of childcare fees, with costs working out at only 3% of an individual’s income. The cost of a month’s full day enrolment in preschool or kindergarten is €318.47. Family benefits are 10.5% of the average earnings, and not affected by the number of parents, or their working arrangements or salary.

Lithuania

Lithuania ranked in sixth place in our list. In this country, maternity leave is 18 weeks, at 77.6% of the mother’s earnings on average. Beyond that, mothers can access 61.7 weeks of home care leave, paid at an average of 62.5%. With the seventh longest dedicated paternity leave on our list, fathers are able to access 4 weeks of paternity leave, at 77.6% pay on average. They are also entitled to 8.7 weeks of home care leave, which is also paid at a rate of 77.6%.

In Lithuania, childcare fees can amount to 9% of the average income, and the average monthly cost of full day kindergarten or preschool is €555.68. This country offers single parent households the fifth highest percentage of the average earnings as benefits, at 24.8% - two parent households can receive a lower amount, at 6.6%.

Slovenia

Next up is Slovenia. Paid maternity leave here is 15 weeks long at full pay, and there are also another 37.1 weeks of home care leave available at 100% pay too. Paternity leave is 2.1 weeks long at full pay, but fathers can also access a further 8.6 weeks of home care leave, fully paid.

Without deductions, the average cost of childcare is a very high 46% of the average earnings - however, the cost can be reduced by 33% with benefits and rebates. A month’s preschool or kindergarten costs €418.75.

In Slovenia, a single parent family is entitled to 19% of the average earnings as benefits, while a two parent family with one working parent who is in the top 10% of earners is entitled to 6.3%. Finally, a two parent household where both parents are middle earners can receive slightly more, 7.6%.

Norway

Norway is in eighth place, where mothers are entitled to 18 weeks of maternity leave, paid at an average of 98.2% of their earnings. Beyond that, they are able to access 68 weeks of home care leave, which is paid at an average of 32.6%. While Norway has no paid dedicated paternity leave, fathers can access 15 weeks of home care leave, paid at 98.2%. The law is different in Norway, with a combined 12 months leave for both parents to divide how they choose when they have a baby.

Childcare costs, on average, 11% of the average salary - but this can be bumped down by 3% with various deductions and rebates. The cost for a month of full day kindergarten or preschool for one child is €255.05. In terms of the benefits available, a single parent family is entitled to 12.9% of the average earnings as benefits, while two parent families are able to access 3.9%.

Germany

Germany is another country that offers generous family policies and has affordable childcare, also ranking in joint eighth place. Here, maternity leave is 14 weeks fully paid, with 44 weeks of home care leave available to mothers, at a rate of 65% of their earnings on average. And like Norway, while there’s no dedicated paternity leave, fathers can take 8.7 weeks of home care leave, paid at an average rate of 65.3%.

Germany has the second lowest childcare fees in the whole list, with costs working out at 1% of the average salary, only beaten by Italy and Malta where the cost is less than 1% after deductions. And on average it costs €472.19 for a child to attend preschool or kindergarten for a month.

The benefits for a single parent household are the second highest in the list, with these parents on a middle income able to access 29% of the average earnings as benefits on average. A two parent household where one parent is a top earner is not eligible for benefits, but a household where two parents are both middle income earners can get 9.2% of the average earnings as benefits.

The 5 countries with the lowest scores

Switzerland has the lowest score of all. Even with 30% off the cost of childcare due to deductions and rebates, it still costs 34% of the average income. A month’s kindergarten costs €2827.71, the highest price in the whole list.

United Kingdom is next. Childcare costs 29% of the average income, and the maternity and paternity leave on offer is shorter than other countries, at 31.1 weeks and 2 weeks respectively.

Ireland has the next lowest score, where childcare costs 31% of the average income. Child benefits are also lower here than in many other countries, with families only entitled to 7.1% of the average earnings as benefits, regardless of their employment status or income.

The Czech Republic has the fourth lowest score. Single parent families are entitled to 5.8% of the average earnings as benefits, but two parent families are not entitled to any benefits.

Finally, Cyprus has the fifth lowest score in our list. Maternity leave is 22 weeks at 72% pay, and paternity leave is 2 weeks at the same rate. Childcare costs 29% of average earnings.

Longest maternity and paternity leave

The country with the longest maternity leave is Bulgaria, at 58.6 weeks - but as well as being the longest, it also has one of the highest payment rates out of those that are not fully paid, at a rate of 90%. It’s followed by Greece, where mothers can access 56 weeks maternity leave. After that, there’s a drop in the length of time on offer before we see the UK in third place, with an offer of 39 weeks maternity leave - it’s also paid significantly less here than in other countries, at an average of 31.1% pay.

Onto paternity leave, the country with the most weeks of leave for fathers of a new baby is Spain, with 16 weeks of paternity leave, fully paid. In second place, the Netherlands offers 6 weeks for new fathers, at 84.1% pay - that’s about three months less than dads get in Spain. And in third place, in Portugal the offer is 5 weeks of paternity leave, fully paid.

Conclusion

We hope that our round up of countries that combine generous parental leave with affordable childcare was interesting. Of course there are many more factors that affect what different countries are like as a place to raise a family, such as number of schools, but only looking at select factors, these are the countries that came out on top.

Not making the top 10 but in the top 15 were Sweden, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Greece. And to round off the top 20, Finland, Portugal, Iceland, Croatia, and Spain were next.

Sources

Disclaimer

"Information refers to paid parental leave and subsequent periods of paid home care leave to care for young children (sometimes under a different name, for example, “childcare leave” or “child raising leave”, or the Complément de Libre Choix d’Activité in France). The table refers to paid leave entitlements in place as of April 2024. Data reflect entitlements at the national or federal level only, and do not reflect regional variations or additional/alternative entitlements provided by states/provinces or local governments in some countries (e.g. Québec in Canada, or California in the United States). The "average payment rate" refers the proportion of previous earnings replaced by the benefit over the length of the paid leave entitlement for a person earning 100% of average national full-time earnings. If this covers more than one period of leave at two different payment rates then a weighted average is calculated based on the length of each period. In most countries benefits are calculated on the basis of gross earnings, with the "payment rates" shown reflecting the proportion of gross earnings replaced by the benefit. In Austria, Chile, Germany. Lithuania and Romania (parental leave only), benefits are calculated based on previous net (post income tax and social security contribution) earnings, while in France benefits are calculated based on post-social-security-contribution earnings. Payment rates for these countries reflect the proportion of the appropriate net earnings replaced by the benefit. Additionally, in some countries maternity and parental benefits may be subject to taxation and may count towards the income base for social security contributions. As a result, the actual amounts received by the individual on leave may differ from those shown in the table."