EU countries by people who cannot afford a week of holiday

Romania had the highest people who cannot afford a week of holiday of 27 EU countries in 2018, at 58.9%. Sweden had the lowest, at 9.7%. The median was 30.5% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 29.2%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest58.9Romania

Lowest9.7Sweden

Median30.527 EU countries

European Union (27)29.2History

Map of EU countries, 2018

Under 14
14 to 25
25 to 34
34 to 43
43 and over

%, 2018. Source: Eurostat, Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2018

%. Source: Eurostat, Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Romania	58.9	-6.1 pts
2	Croatia	51.3	-6.9 pts
3	Cyprus	51	-1.3 pts
3	Greece	51	+0.1 pts
5	Italy	44.4	+1.4 pts
6	Hungary	43	-5.2 pts
7	Portugal	41.3	-3 pts
8	Lithuania	40.7	-1.1 pts
9	Slovakia	39.9	-2.4 pts
10	Poland	34.6	-3.8 pts
11	Spain	34.2	-0.1 pts
12	Latvia	32.8	-4.5 pts
13	Malta	30.6	-3.3 pts
14	Bulgaria	30.5	-22.1 pts
15	Ireland	29.5	-6 pts
16	Estonia	26.9	-1 pts
17	Belgium	23.4	-1.9 pts
18	France	22.6	-0.5 pts
19	Slovenia	21.8	-1.3 pts
20	Czechia	20.7	-4.3 pts
21	Netherlands	14.4	-0.8 pts
22	Germany	13.6	-1.7 pts
23	Finland	13.3	-2.1 pts
24	Austria	12.4	-1.8 pts
25	Denmark	12.2	-1.6 pts
26	Luxembourg	10.6	-0.3 pts
27	Sweden	9.7	+0.9 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Share of the population living in households that cannot afford to pay for one week of annual holiday away from home (EU-SILC, all household types and incomes).

EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). The reference year is the survey year. Self-reported by households; a share of people, not of households.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes02/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02) (EU countries by people who cannot afford a week of holiday, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes02/default/table

MLA 9

Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02), EU countries by people who cannot afford a week of holiday, 2018. Eurostat, European Commission, 17 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes02/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cannot-afford-holiday/eu-countries?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02). EU countries by people who cannot afford a week of holiday, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes02/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cannot-afford-holiday/eu-countries?period=2018.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02), EU countries by people who cannot afford a week of holiday, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes02/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/cannot-afford-holiday/eu-countries?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_people_2018,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc\_mdes02): EU countries by people who cannot afford a week of holiday, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes02/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cannot-afford-holiday/eu-countries?period=2018. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc\_mdes02). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc\_mdes02/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02): EU countries by people who cannot afford a week of holiday, 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/17
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes02/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/cannot-afford-holiday/eu-countries?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cannot-afford-holiday/eu-countries?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes02/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank EU countries by people who cannot afford a week of holiday using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"unable_to_afford_holiday_share","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=unable_to_afford_holiday_share&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest people who cannot afford a week of holiday?

Romania, with 58.9% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest people who cannot afford a week of holiday?

Sweden, with 9.7% in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Inability to afford paying for one week annual holiday away from home, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes02). Retrieved 2026-10-12.