Wednesday, June 3, 2026

I really struggled with this one. I looked at the 5 countries with the most generous paid parental leave in 2024 to see how leave duration has changed over the course of this data set. The amounts have shifted — in both directions — more than I expected. #TidyTuesday #rstats #dataviz

Line chart showing paid parental leave duration in weeks for the 5 most generous European countries from 1970 to 2024: Austria, Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, and Sweden. Estonia shows the most dramatic change, spiking to around 160 weeks near 1990 before dropping sharply. Austria has remained consistently high, around 100 weeks, since the 1970s. Germany rose steeply from near zero to around 100 weeks between 2005 and 2020. Lithuania fluctuated significantly, peaking near 100 weeks around 2010. Sweden has held relatively steady between 50 and 60 weeks throughout the period.