Paternity leave is increasingly recognised as a key component of modern family policy, yet global research remains uneven. This bibliometric analysis maps the intellectual and geographical landscape of paternity leave scholarship in Scopus. From 2,967 records, 555 publications met inclusion criteria. Using Excel, VoSviewer and RStudio’s Biblioshiny trends in productivity, authorship, institutional output, country contributions, citations and keyword networks were examined. Findings show a sharp rise in publications after 2010, especially between 2020 and 2025, reflecting growing global interest. Keyword patterns indicate a shift from policy descriptions to broader themes of gender equality, child development, workplace culture and family well-being. However, research remains heavily concentrated in high-income regions, with significant gaps in South Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. These disparities highlight the need for more inclusive, context-specific research on paternity leave worldwide.
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