2026 edition

Global Employer Burden Index 2026

Name: Global Employer Burden Index 2026
Published: 2026
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

What it really costs and takes to employ someone, scored across 192 countries and territories from sourced statutory data. Higher score means a heavier employer burden.

Argentina is the most expensive country in the world to employ someone. The United States is one of the cheapest — 158th of 192.

A $50,000 salary really costs about $69,500 a year in Argentina once mandatory employer contributions and 13th-month pay are added — against about $54,000 in the United States.

In Argentina, employers add ~28% in social contributions on top of some of the world’s longest statutory severance and notice. In the US: no federal statutory severance or notice, and ~8% in contributions.

192

Countries and territories

Statutory pillars

Argentina

Heaviest burden

New Zealand

Lightest burden

Robbin Schuchmann

Co-founder, Employ Borderless

Updated July 2026

The global picture

Every scored country, shaded by composite burden — darker is heavier. Grey countries aren’t scored; we show coverage rather than fill gaps.

Composite0–2020–4040–6060–8080–100No data

Key findings

Argentina carries the heaviest employer burden

It ranks 1st of 192 scored countries and territories, combining high employer social contributions with long statutory severance and notice.

The United States ranks 158th of 192

With no federal statutory severance or notice and comparatively low employer social contributions, the US sits among the world’s lightest employer burdens.

38 countries have no statutory severance

Where the law sets no minimum severance, the cost of ending an employment relationship falls to notice, contract, and negotiation instead.

Europe is the heaviest region on average

Its 47 scored countries average 51.7 on the composite, against 29.1 for Oceania — the lightest region.

English-speaking economies cluster at the light end

United Kingdom (#85), Ireland (#94), Australia (#103), Canada (#109), United States (#158), New Zealand (#163). 4 of 6 sit in the lighter half — statutory employer burden stays low across the Anglosphere even where total labour costs run high.

The heaviest and lightest places to employ

Composite score from 0 to 100 — higher is a heavier statutory employer burden. The 15 heaviest and 10 lightest of 192 scored countries and territories; the United States is highlighted.

Composite0–2020–4040–6060–8080–100

Full ranking

All 192scored countries and territories. Pillar scores are 0 to 100 (percent-rank within this edition); raw values are the sourced statutory inputs behind them. Tied composite scores share a rank, so the highest rank number is smaller than the row count — the list is complete, not truncated. The last four columns (employee SSC, 13th salary, annual leave, maternity) are collected context — not part of the score. The “Cost of $50k” column is an illustration: $50,000 plus mandatory 13th-month pay where required, times employer contributions — contribution ceilings and other obligations are not applied. Every row has a permalink: link to any country as #<iso2>, e.g. #de.

Rank	Country	Composite	Cost of $50k	Employer cost	Severance	Notice	Employer SSC	Severance wks	Notice wks	Employee SSC	13th salary	Annual leave	Maternity
1	Argentina	86	$69,500	93	84	70	28.3%	23.1 wk	7.2 wk	17%	Mandatory	14 d	12.9 wk
2	Belarus	85	$67,200	99	65	79	34.3%	13 wk	8.7 wk	1%	No	24 d	174.4 wk
3	Czechia	83	$66,900	98	61	79	33.8%	11.6 wk	8.7 wk	11.6%	No	20 d	28 wk
4	Vietnam	83	$60,800	83	92	67	21.5%	24.6 wk	6.4 wk	10.5%	Customary	12 d	26 wk
5	Egypt	83	$59,400	77	94	79	18.8%	26.7 wk	8.7 wk	11%	No	21 d	17.1 wk
6	Moldova	81	$62,000	89	71	79	24%	15 wk	8.7 wk	9%	No	28 d	166.4 wk
7	Bolivia	81	$63,200	72	84	96	16.7%	23.1 wk	12.9 wk	12.2%	Mandatory	15 d	12.9 wk
8	Slovakia	78	$66,100	97	37	95	32.2%	7.2 wk	11.6 wk	13.4%	No	-	34 wk
9	Nepal	77	$65,000	94	82	28	30%	22.9 wk	4.3 wk	21%	No	-	14 wk
9	Turkey	77	$59,300	76	84	69	18.5%	23.1 wk	6.7 wk	15%	No	-	16 wk
10	Germany	77	$60,400	82	61	90	20.9%	11.6 wk	10 wk	21.5%	No	20 d	14 wk
11	China	77	$63,300	92	84	28	26.5%	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	19%	No	5 d	14 wk
12	Equatorial Guinea	77	$60,800	83	98	28	21.5%	34.3 wk	4.3 wk	4.5%	-	30 d	12 wk
13	Russia	76	$65,100	95	44	79	30.2%	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	0%	No	-	87.9 wk
14	Brazil	75	$69,800	94	49	69	28.8%	8.9 wk	6.6 wk	14%	Mandatory	22 d	17.1 wk
15	Morocco	75	$60,000	80	68	70	20.1%	13.4 wk	7.2 wk	6.7%	No	-	14 wk
15	Tajikistan	75	$60,000	79	65	79	20%	13 wk	8.7 wk	2%	-	-	87.9 wk
16	Portugal	74	$67,000	88	50	75	23.8%	9.1 wk	7.9 wk	11%	Mandatory	22 d	6 wk
17	France	74	$68,200	100	33	70	36.3%	5.8 wk	7.2 wk	11.3%	No	25 d	16 wk
18	Sudan	73	$61,500	86	81	28	23%	21.7 wk	4.3 wk	12%	-	-	8 wk
19	Spain	72	$70,700	95	72	14	30.6%	15.2 wk	2.1 wk	6.5%	Mandatory	30 d	16 wk
20	Costa Rica	72	$67,500	90	70	28	24.6%	14.4 wk	4.3 wk	9.8%	Mandatory	12 d	17.3 wk
21	Estonia	71	$66,900	98	22	78	33.8%	4.3 wk	8.6 wk	1.6%	No	28 d	14.3 wk
22	Albania	70	$58,400	72	55	90	16.7%	10.7 wk	10.1 wk	11.2%	No	-	52.1 wk
22	Azerbaijan	70	$62,300	90	41	66	24.5%	7.4 wk	6.3 wk	5.5%	No	21 d	166.4 wk
22	Paraguay	70	$61,800	57	78	93	14%	18.6 wk	10.8 wk	9%	Mandatory	-	18 wk
23	Algeria	70	$62,600	91	65	28	25.3%	13 wk	4.3 wk	9%	-	30 d	21.4 wk
24	New Caledonia	70	$68,200	100	20	70	36.5%	2.2 wk	7.2 wk	-	-	-	-
25	Aruba	70	$62,700	91	29	79	25.3%	5.3 wk	8.7 wk	9.6%	-	15 d	-
26	Iran	69	$66,600	86	84	0	23%	23.1 wk	0 wk	7%	Mandatory	26 d	38.6 wk
27	Gambia	68	$55,500	40	93	100	11%	26 wk	26 wk	5%	-	-	25.7 wk
28	Sweden	68	$65,700	96	0	98	31.4%	0 wk	14.4 wk	7.0%	No	25 d	12.9 wk
29	South Sudan	67	$58,500	73	84	28	17%	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	-	-	-	12.9 wk
30	Gabon	67	$60,100	81	26	93	20.1%	4.6 wk	10.8 wk	4.5%	-	24 d	14 wk
30	Republic of the Congo	67	$60,100	81	35	79	20.3%	6.9 wk	8.7 wk	4%	-	-	15 wk
31	Sierra Leone	66	$55,000	34	100	96	10%	62.5 wk	13 wk	5%	-	-	14 wk
32	Malaysia	66	$57,200	59	76	69	14.4%	17.2 wk	6.7 wk	11.7%	No	8 d	14 wk
33	Senegal	66	$61,900	89	55	28	23.9%	10.5 wk	4.3 wk	13.1%	Customary	-	14 wk
34	Belgium	66	$63,600	92	0	100	27.2%	0 wk	19.7 wk	14.0%	Customary	20 d	15 wk
34	Sri Lanka	66	$57,500	61	100	28	15%	54.2 wk	4.3 wk	8%	No	-	12 wk
35	Poland	65	$58,100	68	44	90	16.3%	8.7 wk	10.1 wk	17.8%	No	20 d	20 wk
36	Madagascar	65	$59,000	75	49	64	18%	8.9 wk	5.8 wk	2%	-	30 d	14 wk
37	Qatar	65	$57,000	57	74	70	14%	16 wk	7.2 wk	7%	No	-	7.1 wk
38	Ukraine	65	$61,000	85	22	79	22%	4.3 wk	8.7 wk	0%	No	-	18 wk
39	Greece	64	$66,000	84	74	0	21.8%	15.9 wk	0 wk	13.4%	Mandatory	20 d	56 wk
40	Central African Republic	63	$59,500	78	61	28	19%	11.6 wk	4.3 wk	3%	-	-	14 wk
41	Latvia	63	$61,800	87	44	28	23.6%	8.7 wk	4.3 wk	10.5%	No	20 d	16 wk
41	Togo	63	$61,300	85	48	28	22.5%	8.8 wk	4.3 wk	9%	-	-	14 wk
42	Kyrgyzstan	62	$58,600	74	65	28	17.3%	13 wk	4.3 wk	10%	-	-	18 wk
43	Bahrain	62	$60,500	83	51	28	21%	9.3 wk	4.3 wk	8%	No	30 d	8.6 wk
44	Croatia	61	$58,300	70	37	75	16.5%	7.2 wk	7.9 wk	20%	No	20 d	30 wk
45	Dominican Republic	61	$62,500	63	82	25	15.4%	22.2 wk	4 wk	5.9%	Mandatory	14 d	14 wk
45	Guinea-Bissau	61	$58,000	66	93	0	16%	26 wk	0 wk	8%	-	-	12.9 wk
46	Philippines	61	$62,000	60	84	28	14.5%	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	9.5%	Mandatory	5 d	15 wk
47	Nicaragua	60	$65,000	79	70	0	20%	14.9 wk	0 wk	7%	Mandatory	-	13 wk
48	Ghana	60	$56,500	53	98	20	13%	46.2 wk	3.6 wk	5.5%	No	15 d	12 wk
48	Italy	60	$71,300	96	0	60	31.6%	0 wk	4.5 wk	9.5%	Mandatory	20 d	21.7 wk
49	Tunisia	60	$57,700	63	76	28	15.4%	17.2 wk	4.3 wk	8.8%	-	-	4.3 wk
50	Kuwait	60	$55,300	38	71	96	10.5%	15.1 wk	13 wk	8%	No	30 d	10 wk
51	Saudi Arabia	59	$55,900	45	72	78	11.8%	15.2 wk	8.6 wk	10%	No	21 d	12 wk
52	Ethiopia	59	$55,500	40	79	79	11%	19 wk	8.7 wk	7%	No	16 d	17.1 wk
53	Finland	59	$60,200	82	0	90	20.5%	0 wk	10.1 wk	9.5%	Customary	25 d	6.7 wk
54	Oman	59	$56,800	56	84	28	13.5%	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	8%	No	-	14 wk
55	El Salvador	58	$63,000	68	82	0	16.3%	22.9 wk	0 wk	10.3%	Mandatory	15 d	16 wk
55	Lebanon	58	$61,300	85	0	79	22.5%	0 wk	8.7 wk	3%	-	15 d	10 wk
56	Chad	58	$58,300	70	33	68	16.5%	5.8 wk	6.5 wk	3.5%	-	24 d	14 wk
56	Mali	58	$59,000	75	51	28	17.9%	9.3 wk	4.3 wk	6.7%	-	30 d	14 wk
57	Niger	58	$58,200	69	61	28	16.4%	11.6 wk	4.3 wk	5.3%	-	-	14 wk
58	Mauritania	57	$60,000	79	42	28	20%	7.6 wk	4.3 wk	5%	-	18 d	14 wk
59	Colombia	57	$63,100	70	75	0	16.5%	16.7 wk	0 wk	0%	Mandatory	15 d	18 wk
59	Yemen	57	$56,500	53	84	28	13%	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	7%	-	-	10 wk
60	Ivory Coast	57	$57,700	63	40	64	15.4%	7.3 wk	5.8 wk	6.3%	Customary	-	14 wk
60	Slovenia	57	$63,200	71	29	61	16.6%	5.3 wk	5.3 wk	24.1%	Mandatory	-	15 wk
61	Libya	56	$57,200	59	72	28	14.3%	15.2 wk	4.3 wk	5.1%	-	30 d	14 wk
62	Cape Verde	55	$57,500	61	72	14	15%	15.2 wk	2.1 wk	7.5%	-	-	12.9 wk
63	Luxembourg	54	$56,800	56	22	98	13.7%	4.3 wk	17.3 wk	12.3%	No	26 d	20 wk
64	Taiwan	53	$57,300	61	61	24	14.6%	11.6 wk	3.8 wk	2.4%	No	15 d	8 wk
65	Uzbekistan	53	$56,100	49	44	79	12.1%	8.7 wk	8.7 wk	0.1%	No	-	114.3 wk
66	Cameroon	53	$56,500	52	27	95	12.9%	4.7 wk	11.6 wk	4.2%	Customary	-	14 wk
67	Guinea	53	$59,000	75	33	28	18%	5.8 wk	4.3 wk	5%	-	30 d	14 wk
68	Panama	53	$62,000	60	77	0	14.5%	18.1 wk	0 wk	9.8%	Mandatory	-	14 wk
69	Syria	53	$58,600	74	0	79	17.1%	0 wk	8.7 wk	7%	-	-	17.1 wk
70	Netherlands	52	$56,300	51	37	79	12.6%	7.2 wk	8.7 wk	10.0%	No	20 d	16 wk
71	South Korea	52	$55,500	42	84	28	11.1%	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	9.4%	Customary	-	12.9 wk
72	Benin	52	$58,200	69	40	28	16.4%	7.3 wk	4.3 wk	3.6%	-	24 d	14 wk
73	Andorra	52	$57,800	64	52	19	15.5%	9.5 wk	3.4 wk	6.5%	-	30 d	-
74	Bulgaria	51	$59,500	78	22	28	18.9%	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	13.8%	No	-	58.6 wk
74	Rwanda	51	$56,400	51	65	28	12.8%	13 wk	4.3 wk	10.8%	No	-	14 wk
75	Honduras	51	$58,000	23	84	70	7%	23.1 wk	7.2 wk	3.5%	Mandatory	10 d	12 wk
76	Hungary	51	$56,500	53	37	65	13%	7.2 wk	6.2 wk	18.5%	No	20 d	24 wk
77	Pakistan	50	$55,500	40	82	28	11%	22.9 wk	4.3 wk	1%	No	-	16 wk
78	Laos	50	$53,000	16	95	67	6%	27.7 wk	6.4 wk	5.5%	-	15 d	15 wk
78	Trinidad and Tobago	50	$54,400	31	69	67	8.8%	14.1 wk	6.4 wk	4.4%	No	-	14 wk
79	Liechtenstein	49	$58,000	67	0	79	16.1%	0 wk	8.7 wk	13.9%	-	20 d	-
80	Austria	49	$63,800	93	0	12	27.6%	0 wk	2 wk	17.9%	Customary	25 d	16 wk
80	Burkina Faso	49	$58,000	66	34	28	16%	6.1 wk	4.3 wk	5.5%	-	-	14 wk
80	San Marino	49	$66,800	97	0	0	33.5%	0 wk	0 wk	8.4%	-	-	90 wk
80	Uruguay	49	$60,900	50	80	0	12.5%	20.8 wk	0 wk	19.5%	Mandatory	14 d	14 wk
81	Zimbabwe	49	$52,300	9	84	94	4.5%	23.1 wk	11.5 wk	4.5%	-	-	14 wk
82	Guatemala	48	$59,900	39	95	0	10.7%	27 wk	0 wk	4.8%	Mandatory	15 d	12 wk
83	Ecuador	48	$59,800	37	96	0	10.4%	31.8 wk	0 wk	8.7%	Mandatory	15 d	12 wk
84	Indonesia	47	$59,700	37	97	0	10.2%	33.2 wk	0 wk	4%	Mandatory	12 d	13 wk
85	United Kingdom	47	$56,800	57	21	61	13.7%	4 wk	5.3 wk	5.6%	No	28 d	39 wk
86	Vanuatu	47	$52,000	7	84	89	4%	23.1 wk	9.3 wk	4%	-	-	12 wk
87	Isle of Man	46	$56,400	51	27	61	12.8%	5 wk	5.3 wk	11%	-	-	-
88	Antigua and Barbuda	46	$56,000	46	64	19	12%	12.8 wk	3.4 wk	10%	-	12 d	14 wk
88	India	46	$60,700	46	59	28	12%	11.4 wk	4.3 wk	12.8%	Mandatory	12 d	26 wk
89	Barbados	46	$55,900	45	64	22	11.8%	12.5 wk	3.7 wk	10.6%	No	15 d	12 wk
90	Dominica	45	$53,600	24	51	90	7.3%	9.3 wk	10.1 wk	6.5%	-	10 d	12 wk
91	Mexico	44	$60,000	39	81	0	10.8%	22 wk	0 wk	1.4%	Mandatory	12 d	12 wk
91	Serbia	44	$57,600	62	43	0	15.2%	7.7 wk	0 wk	19.9%	No	-	52.1 wk
92	Zambia	43	$53,000	16	98	28	6%	46.2 wk	4.3 wk	6%	No	24 d	14 wk
93	Burundi	43	$54,500	32	37	79	9%	7.2 wk	8.7 wk	4%	-	-	12 wk
94	Ireland	42	$55,600	43	55	22	11.2%	10.7 wk	3.7 wk	4.1%	No	20 d	26 wk
95	Norway	42	$56,500	53	0	79	13%	0 wk	8.7 wk	7.7%	No	21 d	18 wk
96	Malawi	42	$55,000	34	63	28	10%	12.3 wk	4.3 wk	5%	-	15 d	8 wk
97	DR Congo	41	$56,500	53	0	74	13%	0 wk	7.3 wk	5%	-	12 d	14 wk
98	São Tomé and Príncipe	41	$53,000	16	93	28	6%	26 wk	4.3 wk	4%	-	-	12.9 wk
99	Israel	41	$53,100	20	84	28	6.3%	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	8.8%	No	-	15 wk
100	Angola	40	$58,500	27	69	28	8%	13.6 wk	4.3 wk	3%	Mandatory	22 d	12.9 wk
101	Iraq	39	$56,000	46	55	0	12%	10.7 wk	0 wk	5%	-	-	14 wk
101	Singapore	39	$58,500	73	0	15	17%	0 wk	3 wk	20%	Customary	7 d	16 wk
102	Thailand	39	$52,500	9	96	28	5%	31.7 wk	4.3 wk	5%	No	10 d	13 wk
103	Australia	39	$56,000	46	44	15	12%	8.7 wk	3 wk	0%	No	20 d	2 wk
104	Djibouti	38	$57,900	65	0	28	15.7%	0 wk	4.3 wk	6%	-	30 d	26 wk
105	Chile	38	$57,300	15	84	28	5.8%	23.1 wk	4.3 wk	7%	Mandatory	15 d	18 wk
106	Japan	38	$57,800	65	0	28	15.7%	0 wk	4.3 wk	14.7%	Customary	10 d	14 wk
106	Mozambique	38	$52,000	7	97	28	4%	33.2 wk	4.3 wk	3%	-	-	12.9 wk
107	Haiti	38	$55,500	40	0	90	11%	0 wk	10.1 wk	9%	-	13 d	12 wk
108	Liberia	37	$53,000	16	80	28	6%	21.3 wk	4.3 wk	4%	-	10 d	14 wk
109	Canada	37	$54,800	34	27	61	9.6%	5 wk	5 wk	6.8%	No	10 d	16 wk
110	Cambodia	37	$52,000	8	59	75	4.1%	11.4 wk	7.9 wk	3.3%	-	-	12.9 wk
110	Mongolia	37	$56,100	49	22	28	12.2%	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	11.8%	No	15 d	173.6 wk
111	Bosnia and Herzegovina	36	$56,000	46	37	12	12%	7.2 wk	2 wk	31.5%	No	20 d	52.1 wk
112	Timor-Leste	36	$53,000	16	79	20	6%	20.2 wk	3.6 wk	-	-	-	12 wk
113	Jordan	35	$57,100	58	0	28	14.3%	0 wk	4.3 wk	7.5%	No	14 d	10 wk
114	Cyprus	34	$55,600	44	0	63	11.2%	0 wk	5.7 wk	10.9%	Customary	20 d	22 wk
115	Solomon Islands	34	$53,800	25	55	28	7.5%	10.7 wk	4.3 wk	5%	-	-	12 wk
116	Grenada	34	$53,500	23	29	70	7%	5.3 wk	7.2 wk	5%	-	15 d	12.9 wk
117	Peru	34	$59,000	32	59	0	9%	11.4 wk	0 wk	13%	Mandatory	30 d	14 wk
118	Papua New Guinea	33	$54,200	29	50	18	8.4%	9.2 wk	3.3 wk	6%	-	-	0 wk
119	Uganda	33	$55,000	34	0	79	10%	0 wk	8.7 wk	5%	No	-	12 wk
120	Tanzania	32	$55,300	38	29	25	10.5%	5.3 wk	4 wk	10%	No	-	12 wk
121	Malta	32	$59,600	34	0	74	10%	0 wk	7.3 wk	10%	Mandatory	24 d	18 wk
122	Myanmar	32	$51,500	6	78	28	3%	18.8 wk	4.3 wk	2%	-	-	14 wk
123	Kosovo	32	$54,300	30	37	28	8.5%	7.2 wk	4.3 wk	8.5%	-	-	38.6 wk
124	Belize	32	$52,800	13	44	60	5.5%	8.3 wk	4.7 wk	0%	-	10 d	14 wk
125	Fiji	31	$55,000	34	29	28	10%	5.3 wk	4.3 wk	8%	-	10 d	14 wk
125	Jersey	31	$53,300	22	27	61	6.5%	5 wk	5.3 wk	6%	-	15 d	-
126	Guyana	31	$54,200	29	36	28	8.4%	7 wk	4.3 wk	5.6%	-	12 d	13 wk
126	Kenya	31	$53,000	16	59	28	6%	11.4 wk	4.3 wk	8.8%	No	21 d	12.9 wk
127	Eswatini	31	$52,500	9	44	65	5%	8.7 wk	5.9 wk	5%	-	10 d	2 wk
128	United Arab Emirates	30	$56,300	50	0	28	12.5%	0 wk	4.3 wk	5%	No	30 d	8.6 wk
129	British Virgin Islands	30	$54,100	29	35	28	8.3%	6.9 wk	4.3 wk	7.8%	-	-	-
130	Bangladesh	30	$50,000	0	82	28	0%	22.9 wk	4.3 wk	0%	Customary	-	16 wk
131	Iceland	30	$53,200	20	0	96	6.3%	0 wk	13 wk	0.1%	No	24 d	26 wk
132	Saint Lucia	29	$52,500	9	68	22	5%	13.3 wk	3.7 wk	5%	-	-	13 wk
133	Switzerland	29	$53,200	21	0	90	6.4%	0 wk	10.1 wk	6.4%	Customary	20 d	14 wk
134	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	27	$52,800	13	53	25	5.5%	10 wk	4 wk	4.5%	-	-	13 wk
135	Bermuda	27	$52,500	9	55	28	5%	10.7 wk	4.3 wk	5%	-	10 d	-
136	Botswana	27	$50,000	0	75	20	0%	16.8 wk	3.5 wk	0%	No	-	12 wk
136	Suriname	27	$53,800	25	48	0	7.5%	8.8 wk	0 wk	3.5%	-	-	16 wk
137	Bahamas	27	$53,000	15	55	12	5.9%	10.7 wk	2 wk	3.9%	No	10 d	12 wk
138	Kazakhstan	26	$54,100	28	22	28	8.1%	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	12%	No	24 d	88.3 wk
138	Nigeria	26	$56,000	46	0	17	12%	0 wk	3.2 wk	10.5%	No	6 d	12 wk
139	Maldives	25	$53,500	23	0	70	7%	0 wk	7.2 wk	-	-	30 d	8.6 wk
140	Montenegro	24	$53,000	16	35	28	6%	6.9 wk	4.3 wk	15.5%	No	20 d	52.1 wk
141	Jamaica	24	$51,500	6	53	25	3%	10 wk	4 wk	3%	No	-	8 wk
142	Saint Kitts and Nevis	24	$53,000	16	0	79	6%	0 wk	8.7 wk	5%	-	-	13 wk
143	Samoa	24	$55,500	40	0	18	11%	0 wk	3.3 wk	11%	-	-	4 wk
144	North Macedonia	23	$50,600	3	54	28	1.2%	10.1 wk	4.3 wk	26.3%	No	-	38.6 wk
145	Seychelles	23	$52,500	9	42	28	5%	7.6 wk	4.3 wk	5%	-	-	16 wk
146	Armenia	22	$50,000	0	22	79	0%	4.3 wk	8.7 wk	5%	No	20 d	114.3 wk
147	Marshall Islands	22	$55,800	44	0	0	11.5%	0 wk	0 wk	11.5%	-	-	0 wk
148	Denmark	21	$50,300	2	0	99	0.7%	0 wk	18.8 wk	0%	No	25 d	22 wk
149	Lesotho	21	$50,000	0	55	20	0%	10.7 wk	3.6 wk	0%	-	12 d	12 wk
149	Lithuania	21	$50,900	4	44	28	1.8%	8.7 wk	4.3 wk	19.5%	No	20 d	18 wk
150	Bhutan	20	$52,500	9	0	77	5%	0 wk	8.3 wk	5%	-	18 d	8.6 wk
151	Mauritius	20	$52,800	13	26	28	5.5%	4.6 wk	4.3 wk	2.5%	-	20 d	16 wk
152	Brunei	18	$54,300	30	0	15	8.5%	0 wk	3 wk	8.5%	No	-	13 wk
153	Kiribati	17	$53,800	25	0	22	7.5%	0 wk	3.7 wk	7.5%	-	-	12 wk
154	Palau	17	$54,800	33	0	0	9.5%	0 wk	0 wk	9.5%	-	-	0 wk
155	Hong Kong	16	$52,500	9	20	28	5%	1.4 wk	4.3 wk	5%	No	10 d	14 wk
156	South Africa	16	$51,000	4	29	25	2%	5.3 wk	4 wk	1%	No	15 d	0 wk
157	Georgia	14	$51,000	4	22	28	2%	4.3 wk	4.3 wk	2%	No	24 d	26.1 wk
158	Guernsey	14	$53,400	22	0	15	6.8%	0 wk	3 wk	7%	-	-	-
158	United States	14	$54,000	28	0	0	8.1%	0 wk	0 wk	7.7%	No	0 d	0 wk
159	Puerto Rico	13	$58,300	27	0	0	7.7%	0 wk	0 wk	-	Mandatory	-	8 wk
160	Namibia	13	$50,400	3	29	17	0.9%	5.3 wk	3.2 wk	0.9%	No	-	12 wk
161	Micronesia	12	$53,800	25	0	0	7.5%	0 wk	0 wk	7.5%	-	-	0 wk
162	Romania	8	$51,100	5	0	25	2.3%	0 wk	4 wk	35%	No	-	18 wk
163	New Zealand	4	$52,100	8	0	0	4.2%	0 wk	0 wk	0%	No	-	26 wk

Excluded countries

58 countries and territories are not scored because they lack a sourced value for one or more of the three statutory pillars. We list them rather than fill the gaps with estimates.

Country	Missing data
Afghanistan	Employer social contributions
Åland Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
American Samoa	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Anguilla	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Antarctica	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Bouvet Island	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
British Indian Ocean Territory	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Caribbean Netherlands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Cayman Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Christmas Island	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Comoros	Employer social contributions
Cook Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Cuba	Statutory severance, Notice period
Curaçao	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Eritrea	Employer social contributions
Falkland Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Faroe Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
French Guiana	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
French Polynesia	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
French Southern and Antarctic Lands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Gibraltar	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Greenland	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Guadeloupe	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Guam	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Heard Island and McDonald Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Macau	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Martinique	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Mayotte	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Monaco	Statutory severance
Montserrat	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Nauru	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Niue	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Norfolk Island	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
North Korea	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Northern Mariana Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Palestine	Employer social contributions
Pitcairn Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Réunion	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Saint Barthélemy	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Saint Martin	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Sint Maarten	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Somalia	Employer social contributions
South Georgia	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Svalbard and Jan Mayen	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Tokelau	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Tonga	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Turkmenistan	Statutory severance, Notice period
Turks and Caicos Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Tuvalu	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
United States Minor Outlying Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
United States Virgin Islands	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Vatican City	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Venezuela	Statutory severance, Notice period
Wallis and Futuna	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period
Western Sahara	Employer social contributions, Statutory severance, Notice period

Use the dataset

The full ranking, pillar scores, and sourced statutory inputs are open data under CC BY 4.0. Reuse it freely with attribution.

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Cite this dataset

Schuchmann, R. (2026). Global Employer Burden Index 2026 [Data set]. Employ Borderless. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21211464

Permanent DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21211464 · archived on Zenodo under CC BY 4.0.

For journalists and researchers

Everything on this page may be quoted and republished with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Questions about the data, custom cuts, or comment from the author — email [email protected]. We answer fast on deadline.

Press assets

Full dataset (CSV) — ranking, pillar scores, sourced inputs
Full dataset (JSON) — includes per-value sources and dates
Full methodology — weights, tenure basis, sources, limitations

Story angles in this edition

The same $50,000 hire costs about $69,500 in Argentina and about $54,000 in the United States — a $15,500 gap set entirely by law, before benefits or market pay.
Europe averages 51.7 on the composite against 29.1 for Oceania — the regional gap in what employers owe by statute.
38 countries and territories set no statutory severance at all — where ending employment costs notice and negotiation, not a mandated payout.
The Anglosphere anomaly: 4 of 6 major English-speaking economies sit in the lighter half of the index, even where total labour costs run high.

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A live, self-updating widget of the heaviest and lightest employer burdens. Paste the snippet into any article or CMS — attribution is built in.

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How we score it

A country is scored only when it has a sourced, dated value for all three pillars: employer social-security contributions, statutory severance, and statutory notice. Each pillar is percent-ranked against the other included countries, then combined: 50% employer cost, 30% severance, 20% notice. No estimates, no AI-filled gaps.

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