Social security by country — headline rates
Cross-country comparison of headline social security rates. Draft-status country pages are excluded until figures are cross-checked.
See the full 65-country comparison table →
| Rank | Country | Headline rate | Composition |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Romania | 35% | Employees pay 25% pension plus 10% health on gross salary, uncapped — Europe's heaviest employee-side burden, offsetting the 10% flat tax. |
| #2 | Netherlands | 27.65% | National insurance of 27.65% is built into the first income tax band (to €38,883) — employees pay no separate visible contributions; employer charges sit on top. |
| #3 | Slovenia | 23.1% | Employees pay 22.1% classic contributions plus the new 1% long-term care charge, uncapped — with a flat EUR 37.17 monthly health supplement on top. |
| 4 | France | ≈ 21% – 22% | Employee side: ~11.3% pension contributions (mostly capped) plus 9.7% social charges (general social contribution + debt contribution) on nearly all salary. |
| 5 | Germany | ~21% | Employee side: 9.3% pension + ~8.75% health + 1.3% unemployment + 1.8% care, each on capped bases — roughly 21% below the ceilings. |
| 6 | Croatia | 20% | Employees pay a single 20% pension contribution, capped at EUR 11,958 of monthly pay — health insurance is entirely employer-funded. |
| 7 | Singapore | 20% | Central Provident Fund: employees up to 55 contribute 20% of wages (capped); foreigners without permanent residence are excluded (permanent residents contribute). |
| 8 | Lithuania | 19.5% | Employees pay 19.5% — 12.52% social insurance capped at 60 average wages plus 6.98% health with no cap — while employers add only 1.45–2.71%. |
| 9 | Hungary | 18.5% | One merged employee contribution of 18.5% on gross pay, uncapped — with unused family allowance able to reduce it. |
| 10 | Austria | 18.07% | Employees pay 18.07% all-in (pension 10.25%, health 3.87%, unemployment 2.95%, housing 0.5%, chamber and similar levies 0.5%) on salary capped at €6,930 a month. |
| 11 | Chile | ≈18% | Employees pay 10% pension plus a 0.49-1.45% fund fee, 7% health and 0.6% unemployment — around 18% on salary capped at 90 indexed units a month. |
| 12 | Uruguay | ≈18% – 23% | Employees pay 15% pension (capped), health insurance of 3-6% (+2% to cover a spouse) and a 0.10% retraining levy — all deductible against income tax. |
| 13 | Argentina | 17% | Employees pay 17% — 11% pension, 3% retirees' medical fund, 3% health insurance — on salary capped at ARS 3.82 million a month. |
| 14 | Japan | ≈ 15% | Employees pay roughly 15% — 9.15% welfare pension, ~5% health (5.7% from age 40), 0.5% unemployment (from April 2026) — on capped standard remuneration. |
| 15 | Turkey | 15% | Employees pay 14% social security plus 1% unemployment insurance on salary between TRY 33,030 and 297,270 a month. |
| 16 | Slovakia | 14.4% | From 2026 employees pay 9.4% social insurance (capped at EUR 16,764/month) plus an uncapped 5% health contribution. |
| 17 | Bulgaria | 13.78% | Employees pay 13.78% on gross pay capped at EUR 2,111.64 a month — a maximum of about EUR 291 monthly. |
| 18 | Poland | 13.71% + 9% | Employees pay 13.71% social insurance (pension part capped at PLN 282,600 of annual income) plus an uncapped 9% health contribution. |
| 19 | Greece | 13.37% | Employees pay 13.37% of gross salary, capped at EUR 7,761.94 of monthly pay; the self-employed pay fixed monthly amounts instead. |
| 20 | Belgium | 13.07% | Employees pay a flat 13.07% of gross salary with no ceiling — pensions 7.5%, health 3.55%, sick pay 1.15%, unemployment 0.87%. |
| 21 | Monaco | ≈13% | Employees pay about 13%: 6.85% pension (capped), roughly 4-9.7% supplementary pension by band, and 2.40% unemployment — health is employer-funded. |
| 22 | Luxembourg | ≈ 12.95% | Employees pay 8.5% pension + 3.05% health + 1.4% dependency, on salary capped at €13,518.68 a month (the dependency part is uncapped). |
| 23 | Czech Republic | 11.6% | Employees pay 6.5% pension + 0.6% sickness + 4.5% health; the social part caps at CZK 2,350,416 of annual income, health never caps. |
| 24 | Peru | 11.5% / 13% | The employee's only mandatory charge is the pension: 13% to the national system or about about 12.5% all-in (10% account + ~2.5% insurance and commission) plus insurance to a private fund — health is on the employer. |
| 25 | Malaysia | 11% | Employees put 11% of pay into the Employees Provident Fund, plus small capped injury and job-loss contributions of under MYR 42 a month combined. |
| 26 | Portugal | 11% | Employees pay a flat 11% of gross salary with no upper cap; the self-employed pay 21.4%. |
| 27 | Costa Rica | 10.83% | Employees pay 10.83% of gross salary; the self-employed pay 11.5-18.75% by income level — none of it deductible for income tax. |
| 28 | Latvia | 10.5% | Employees pay 10.5% up to the EUR 105,300 ceiling; beyond it a 25% combined solidarity tax keeps the burden going. |
| 29 | Montenegro | 10.5% | Employees pay 10% pension and 0.5% unemployment insurance — no health charge since 2022, and employers pay only a 0.5% unemployment share since late 2024. |
| 30 | Vietnam | 10.5% | Employees pay 8% social insurance, 1.5% health and 1% unemployment on capped salary bases — 10.5% in total for Vietnamese staff. |
| 31 | El Salvador | 10.25% | Employees pay 3% health insurance (capped at USD 30 a month) plus 7.25% pension on full pay — about 10.25% at modest salaries, less at high ones. |
| 32 | Finland | ≈ 10.2% | Employees pay ~7.3% pension + 0.89% unemployment + 1.98% health insurance, mostly uncapped and largely deductible. |
| 33 | Belize | 10% combined | Contributions total 10% of insurable earnings up to BZD 520 a week, split between employer and employee by wage band. |
| 34 | Malta | 10% | Employees pay 10% of basic weekly wages, capped at EUR 55.93 a week in 2026 for people born from 1962 (EUR 49.04 for older cohorts) — roughly EUR 2,900 a year at most. |
| 35 | Panama | 9.75% + 1.25% | Employees pay 9.75% social security plus a 1.25% educational tax — 11% in all, on full pay with no ceiling. |
| 36 | South Korea | ≈ 9.65% | Employees pay 4.75% national pension (capped), about 4% health including long-term care (high cap) and 0.9% unemployment — all deductible. |
| 37 | Ecuador | 9.45% | Private-sector employees pay 9.45% of full remuneration with no ceiling (public workers 11.45%); contributions are deductible. |
| 38 | Italy | ≈ 9.19% | Employees pay roughly 9.19% of gross salary (10.19% on earnings above the first-band ceiling), withheld by the employer; a contribution cap applies to post-1995 joiners. |
| 39 | Cyprus | 8.8% + 2.65% | Employees pay 8.8% social insurance on pay up to EUR 5,742 a month, plus a 2.65% health charge on income up to EUR 180,000 a year. |
| 40 | Bahrain | 8% / 1% | The one real payroll deduction: Bahraini employees pay 8%, expatriates 1%. Employer shares are 18% and 3% respectively in 2026. |
| 41 | Colombia | 8% – 11% | Employees pay 4% health and 4% pension, plus a solidarity-fund charge of 1.5-3% once pay passes 4 monthly minimum wages — all capped at 25 minimum wages. |
| 42 | Denmark | 8% + ATP | The 8% labour-market contribution (legally a tax) plus a token DKK 94.65/month pension contribution — Denmark funds welfare through income tax instead. |
| 43 | United Kingdom | 8% | Employee National Insurance: 8% between £242 and £967 a week, 2% above — uncapped at the top but light by European standards. |
| 44 | United States | 7.65% | Employees pay 6.2% social security on wages to $184,500 plus 1.45% Medicare uncapped (+0.9% at high incomes); the self-employed pay both halves. |
| 45 | Canada | ≈ 7.6% | Canada Pension Plan (5.95% + 4% second tier) and employment insurance (1.63%) — modest, capped, and partly creditable against tax. |
| 46 | Norway | 7.6% | Employees pay 7.6% national insurance on gross salary (5.1% on pensions; 10.8% self-employed), uncapped, not deductible. |
| 47 | Philippines | ≈7.5% | Employees pay 5% to the Social Security System (capped), 2.5% to PhilHealth (capped) and up to PHP 200 to the housing fund — about PHP 4,450 a month at most. |
| 48 | Sweden | 7% (fully credited) | Employees pay a 7% pension premium (max SEK 47,100) that is credited back in full against income tax — employers carry the real 31.42% burden. |
| 49 | Andorra | 6.5% | Employees pay 6.5% of salary to the national scheme; employers add 15.5% for a 22% total covering health and pensions. |
| 50 | Spain | 6.5% | Employees pay 6.35% plus a 0.15% pension top-up on salary capped at €5,101.20 a month; a small solidarity charge now reaches above the cap. |
| 51 | Switzerland | ≈ 6.4% + pension plan | Employee side: 5.3% state pension/disability (uncapped) + 1.1% unemployment, plus an age-banded occupational pension share on a coordinated salary band; health insurance is a private flat premium, not a payroll tax. |
| 52 | Hong Kong | 5% | The Mandatory Provident Fund takes 5% of pay between HKD 7,100 and 30,000 a month — a maximum of HKD 1,500 monthly — and that is the whole system. |
| 53 | Thailand | 5% | Employees pay 5% of monthly wages up to a THB 17,500 ceiling — a maximum of THB 875 a month in 2026. |
| 54 | Ireland | 4.2% | Employees pay Pay Related Social Insurance at 4.2% of all earnings, uncapped — rising to 4.35% from October 2026. |
| 55 | Indonesia | ≈4% | Employees pay 1% for health (capped), 2% for old-age savings and 1% for the pension (capped) — roughly 4% of salary in total. |
| 56 | Mexico | ≈ 2.4% | Employee contributions to the social security institute are tiny — roughly 2.4% across illness, disability and retirement lines, capped at 25 measure units of salary — the employer pays the bulk. |
| 57 | Australia | 2% | No employee social security contributions — just the 2% Medicare levy inside income tax; retirement is funded by a 12% employer superannuation charge. |
| 58 | Georgia | 2% | No general social insurance from pay. The only deduction is a 2% funded pension contribution, matched by the employer and topped up by the state. |
| 59 | Estonia | 1.6% – 7.6% | Employees pay only 1.6% unemployment insurance plus a 2–6% funded-pension contribution — the 33% social tax is the employer's burden. |
| 60 | Mauritius | 1.5% / 3% | Employees pay the social contribution at 1.5% (salary up to MUR 50,000 a month) or 3% above, plus 1% to the national savings fund. |
| 61 | South Africa | 1% | Employee side is a single 1% unemployment insurance contribution on capped earnings. There is no state pension deduction from pay. |
| 62 | New Zealand | 0% + ~1.4% levy | No social security contributions exist — just the accident-compensation Earners' levy (~1.4%, capped) and voluntary KiwiSaver saving. |
| 63 | Qatar | 0% / 7% | Expatriates contribute nothing; Qatari and Gulf Cooperation Council employees pay 7% of a defined salary base to the retirement scheme. |
| 64 | Saudi Arabia | 0% / ≈9.75% (pre-July-2024 joiners; 10.75% for the new-system cohort from 1 July 2026) | Expatriate employees contribute nothing; Saudi employees pay about 9.75% (pre-July-2024 joiners; 10.75% for the new-system cohort from 1 July 2026) (pension plus unemployment), with new joiners' rates rising under the 2024 reform. |
| 65 | United Arab Emirates | 0% / 11% | Expatriates contribute nothing; Emirati nationals pay 5% or 11% of salary to the state pension depending on registration date. |
Headline rates only. Effective burdens depend on brackets, allowances, surcharges, residency and regime elections — see each country guide for detail. Updated 2026-07-11.