Sweden

Parental Insurance and Parental Leave

A parental allowance (taxable and with pension credits) is paid out for a total of 480 days when a child is born or adopted. For 390 days, the pay is 80 percent of the salary. A smaller allowance is paid for the remaining 90 days. Each parent has 60 days that are reserved specifically for them. These days are often called maternity or paternity months, and cannot be transferred to the other parent. A parent adopting a child is entitled to take leave from work for 1.5 years, calculated from the time the child comes under his or her care. Parents have a statutory right to shorten their workdays to 75 percent of normal working hours until their child is 8 years old. This right is exercised exclusively by women.

An equality bonus was introduced by the government in 2008 offering tax relief to parents in paid employment. The amount varies depending on how equal both parents divide the parental leave between them. Swedish taxes are a large burden on taxpayers, however; the top income tax rate of 57 percent is one of the highest in the world. Total government spending is still more than half of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Employment in Sweden

Nearly all children have parents who are in paid employment. During the child's first year it is usually the mother who is on parental leave, and she often works part time when she returns to work. The older the child is, the more the mother tends to increase her working hours. Fathers' employment status regarding working hours, mostly full-time, does not change with the child's age.

Nine percent of children aged 0–17 live in low-income families, where on average, 18 percent of the total income consists of benefits such as the child benefit. These families are considered to live below existence minimum standards according to the norms. These children belong to families where only one of the cohabiting parents is in paid employment, children of single parents, or children born to parents born outside of Sweden. Seventeen percent of the Swedish population has an immigrant background (people who are born outside of Sweden, or born in Sweden with two parents born outside Sweden).

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