Which country was the first to bring in the Nordic Model of parental leave? 

The Nordic region brought in their model of parental leave at close to the same time, and which country you see as leading the way depends on which reform you see as central to the model.

Sweden was the first country to bring in shared parental leave, allowing both parents to split the then 24 weeks’ leave as they saw fit from 1974, with Denmark following a decade later in 1984 and Norway not catching up until 1987.

Norway, however, was in 1892 was the first country in the region to bring in statutory parental leave, with all female factory workers entitled to six weeks off work, unpaid of course, after giving birth.

Sweden, then still in a union with Norway, took until 1900 to catch up, and Denmark didn’t give working women these rights until 1901. 

Finally, Iceland can boast of being the first country in the region to bring in paid maternity leave, giving women 14 weeks of paid leave in 1946, with Sweden, the next country in line, bringing in paid maternity leave in 1955, followed by Norway in 1956, Denmark in 1960 and Finland not until 1964. 

Which Nordic country offers the longest leave? 

Sweden today has the most generous system based on the duration of paid leave, with parents able to share 480 days, or over 69 weeks of leave. Norway comes a second with 61 weeks, after which comes Finland with 54 weeks, and Denmark and Iceland with 52 weeks each. 

Which country offers the most money? 

If you are willing to shorten your leave to 49 weeks rather than 61 weeks, Norway will pay you 100 percent of your salary, although this is capped at a salary of 62,014 Norwegian kroner a month (€5,269). If you instead opt for 61 weeks, you can be paid at 80 percent of salary up to 49,611 Norwegian kronor (€4,215) a month. 

Denmark also pays those who have been in full employment 100 percent of their salary, although this is less generous that it looks as it is capped in 2024 at 126.89 Danish kroner per hour, 4,695 kroner a week or 18,780 (€2,516 a month)

Sweden offers 390 days on 80 percent of salary, currently capped at 1,218 kronor a day, or 37,758 kronor (€3.311) a month. A further 90 days can be taken at the so-called “minimum level” of 180 kronor a day. 

It’s worth remembering, however, that in Denmark and Sweden, companies will often top up the allowance given to the state, with employers in Sweden and Denmark topping up payment to 90 percent or even 100 percent of salary depending on what’s in the collective bargaining agreement or contract.  

Which country reserves the most leave for the other parent? 

Norway brought in the first fedrekvote (or father’s quota) in 1993, when four weeks of parental leave were reserved for fathers, with the idea of encouraging couples to share the leave more equally, with the quota increasing to 14 weeks in 2013, and then up to 15 weeks in 2018. 

Sweden followed in 1995, bringing in the first so-called pappamånad, or “Daddy month” in 1995. This was followed by a second such month in 2002 and a third in 2016, meaning that in Sweden 12 weeks are currently reserved for the father. 

Long the laggard when it comes to gender equal parental leave, Denmark brought in new rules in 2022 which reserve 11 weeks of use-it-or-lose-it leave for the father in Denmark. 

Which country offers the most flexibility?

Sweden’s system is highly flexible. Parents can take leave part-time, full-time, or even hourly. They can also take days on the weekends.

For children born after 2014, leave can be used until the child turns 12 years old, although only 96 of those days can be used after the child turns four. 

In Denmark, parents can take leave in half days, working full or part time until the child is nine years old. 

In Norway, parents can take leave as a continuous block, split it into periods, or take it part-time and they can continue taking leave until the child is three years old.