Annual leave entitlements by country (2026)

Last updated July 24, 2026. Jump to: How statutory leave is set · The country table · What the data shows · What it means for employers · How to use this data · FAQ

How statutory annual leave is set

Across our country guides, a few things shape what "annual leave" means in a given country:

• The base entitlement. Most countries set a minimum number of paid days or weeks per year, either as a flat figure or a range. France sets 30 working days; Indonesia sets 12 days. The unit also differs — some guides count working days, others calendar days or weeks.
• Whether it grows with tenure. A number of countries scale the entitlement up as an employee stays longer. Argentina moves from 14 days at under five years’ service to 35 days past twenty years; Mexico adds two days a year on top of a 12-day base.
• Whether public holidays are counted separately. Many guides state annual leave and public holidays as two distinct pools — Germany is 20–24 working days *plus* 9 public holidays. A handful, like the United Kingdom, fold bank holidays into the headline figure instead. See our guide to public holidays by country for the separate counts.

Because the base, the growth curve, and what counts toward the total all differ, the same "20 days" in one country is not necessarily the same benefit as "20 days" in another. The table below states each country’s figure exactly as our guide records it.

Annual leave by country

The table lists 30 countries whose guides state a statutory paid annual leave figure, checked July 2026. Entitlements are shown as our guide records them — some as a flat number, some as a range or a tenure-based schedule. Open a country’s guide for the full leave picture, including sick leave, parental leave, and public holidays.

Source: our country guides, checked July 2026. Figures are the statutory position as each guide records it, including where the entitlement scales with length of service.

Our country guides cover more markets than are tabled here, each with its own full leave breakdown — statutory annual leave alongside sick, maternity, paternity, and other categories. This table shows the countries where the statutory paid-vacation figure specifically is stated plainly enough to compare side by side.

What the data shows

A few patterns hold up across the countries in the table:

• Europe clusters high. Most European countries in the table sit in a 20–30 day band before public holidays are even added — France at 30 working days, Sweden and Denmark at 25, Portugal and Italy around 22. Stack public holidays on top and the effective time off often runs well past a month.
• Tenure-based growth is common, not universal. Argentina, Egypt, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, and Turkey all scale the entitlement up as an employee’s service lengthens — sometimes gradually (Mexico’s +2 days a year), sometimes in steps (Turkey’s three-tier schedule). Others, like France and Brazil, set one flat figure regardless of tenure.
• Public holidays are usually counted separately. Most guides in the table list annual leave and public holidays as two distinct entitlements rather than one blended number — worth checking closely when comparing two countries, since a lower "leave" figure can still mean a similar total once holidays are added.
• The range is wide. At one end, Indonesia and the Philippines sit near 12 days and 5 days respectively; at the other, France and Brazil guarantee around 30 days before holidays. There is no global default to assume.

None of this is a ranking of "generous" versus "strict" — it reflects each country’s own labor law baseline, and a company operating there has to meet it regardless of what is customary elsewhere.

What it means for employers

For a team hiring across several countries, annual leave affects both cost planning and coverage planning. On cost, statutory leave is paid time — it is baked into the total cost of employing someone, not an optional extra, and a country with a higher entitlement carries a higher effective cost per working day. On coverage, a role based in a market with 30 statutory days plus public holidays needs more planning for handoffs and backup than one in a market with a leaner minimum.

Leave sits alongside other statutory entitlements — severance, notice, and benefits — that all factor into what a hire actually costs. Our guides to severance pay by country and statutory employee benefits by country cover those pieces, and the total cost of hiring abroad guide walks through building the full picture.

Getting the leave policy right in a new market is also where local knowledge matters most — some entitlements are simple flat figures, others carry tenure schedules or state-specific variation (India’s Earned/Privilege Leave, for one). An employer of record administers this correctly as the legal employer in-country, tracking accrual and entitlement under local law. Our guide to what an employer of record is explains the model.

How to use this data

This table is a starting reference, not a substitute for the full local rules. A few honest ways to use it:

• To compare the statutory floor across a shortlist of countries before deciding where to hire.
• To sanity-check a leave policy someone has proposed against what the law actually requires in that country.
• As a starting point before opening the full country guide for the market you are hiring in, where sick leave, maternity and paternity leave, and public holidays are broken out in full.

Leave is one line in a much bigger cost picture — salary, employer contributions, benefits, and any severance exposure all add up alongside it. Our employment cost calculator turns a salary into an all-in employer cost for a given country, with dedicated calculators for India, Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, and Portugal.

Frequently asked questions

What is statutory annual leave?

Statutory annual leave is the minimum amount of paid vacation time a country’s labor law requires an employer to give an employee each year. It is a legal floor, not a suggestion — an employer can offer more, but not less. It is set separately from sick leave, parental leave, and public holidays, though some countries fold public holidays into the same headline figure.

Which countries have the most statutory annual leave?

Among the countries in our table, France and Brazil sit highest at around 30 days before public holidays are added, with Spain also at 30 calendar days. Several European countries — Denmark and Sweden among them — cluster around 25 days. These figures are the legal minimum; individual employer policies can run higher.

Does annual leave include public holidays?

It depends on the country. Most guides in our table state annual leave and public holidays as two separate entitlements — Germany’s 20–24 working days plus 9 public holidays, for example. A few, including the United Kingdom, count bank holidays within the headline leave figure. Always check which convention a specific country’s guide uses before comparing two markets.

Does annual leave entitlement increase with tenure?

In several countries, yes. Argentina, Egypt, Mexico, Poland, Singapore, and Turkey all scale the statutory entitlement up as an employee’s length of service grows, either gradually or in tiers. Other countries, such as France and Brazil, set one flat entitlement that does not change with tenure. The table states which applies for each country listed.

How does annual leave affect the cost of hiring someone abroad?

Statutory leave is paid time, so it is part of the total cost of employing someone, not a separate line. A country with a higher leave entitlement carries a higher effective cost per working day once salary is spread across fewer actual work days. Our employment cost calculator factors this alongside contributions and benefits to produce an all-in employer cost.

Where can I find annual leave rules for a country not in this table?

Our full country guides directory covers more markets than this table, each with a complete leave breakdown covering annual leave, sick leave, maternity and paternity leave, and public holidays. This page tables the countries whose statutory paid-vacation figure is stated clearly enough to compare side by side; the guides cover more ground.