20 countries with the best work-life balance. Did the U.S. make the list?

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Work-life balance is an elusive goal, and one that's only gotten harder throughout the pandemic. Yet some countries have excelled, by offering generous paid leave, shorter working hours and other benefits that help their citizens strike a happy medium. 

Price comparison platform Compare the Market ranked countries across the world to find locations where work-life balance was the best. They looked at eight factors, including hours worked in a year, paid leave, maternal and paternal leave policies and each country's happiness score. 

Unsurprisingly, Scandinavian countries took many of the top spots on their ranking. Finland, which has been named the Happiest Country in the World by the World Happiness Report five years in a row, took the second spot on this list. Mothers get a whopping 161 weeks of maternity leave (compared to zero weeks in the U.S.), and the country also boasts 30 additional days of paid leave for all employees each year. 

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"It can be easy to let your work–life balance stray more to the work side," Anthony Fleming, Compare the Market's general manager for health insurance, said in the release. "However, our research shows that living in a country where you have more time to enjoy life moments, from bringing a newborn into the world, to having more opportunity to do the things you love, can likely increase your overall happiness.

European countries like Germany and Spain also ranked high for work-life balance, due to their lower number of hours worked per year. German employees work the least amount of hours in the world, clocking in 1,349 hours per year. That's compared to the U.S., where employees work 1,801 hours per year. What would you do with nearly 500 extra hours of free time? 

Read more: Does a 4 day workweek really foster work-life balance? 

Take a look at the 20 countries that made the list — along with their average hours worked per year, total number of weeks of paid family leave and their happiness scores. 

20: Czech Republic 

Hours worked per year: 1,753 
Paid parental leave: 76 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.92/10

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19: Bulgaria 

Hours worked per year: 1,619 
Paid parental leave: 112.5 weeks 
Happiness score: 5.37/10 

18: Latvia 

Hours worked per year: 1,601 
Paid parental leave: 95.4 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.18/10

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17: France 

Hours worked per year: 1,490 
Paid parental leave: 70 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.68/10 

16: Japan

Hours worked per year: 1,607 
Paid parental leave: 110 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.03/10

15: Hungary 

Hours worked per year: 1,697 
Paid parental leave: 161 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.08/10

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14: Romania 

Hours worked per year: 1,838 
Paid parental leave: 114 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.47/10 

13: Lithuania

Hours worked per year: 1,620 
Paid parental leave: 66 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.44/10 

12: Denmark 

Hours worked per year: 1,363 
Paid parental leave: 52 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.63/10 

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11: Slovenia 

Hours worked per year: 1,596 
Paid parental leave: 56.4 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.63/10 

10: Germany 

Hours worked per year: 1,349 
Paid parental leave: 66.7 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.03/10

9: Estonia 

Hours worked per year: 1,767 
Paid parental leave: 84 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.34/10 

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8: Austria 

Hours worked per year: 1,442 
Paid parental leave: 73 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.16/10

7: Spain 

Hours worked per year: 1,641 
Paid parental leave: 28 weeks 
Happiness score: 6.47/10

6: Sweden 

Hours worked per year: 1,444 
Paid parental leave: 70 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.38/10 

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5: Netherlands

Hours worked per year: 1,417 
Paid parental leave: 36 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.41/10

4: Iceland 

Hours worked per year: 1,433 
Paid parental leave: 50 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.55/10 

3: Norway 

Hours worked per year: 1,427 
Paid parental leave: 101 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.36/10 

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2: Finland 

Hours worked per year: 1,518 
Paid parental leave: 170 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.82/10 

1: Luxembourg 

Hours worked per year: 1,382 
Paid parental leave: 74 weeks 
Happiness score: 7.40/10

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