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 2021, at 60%. Sweden had the lowest, at 8.3%. The median was 26.5% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 27.7%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest60Romania

Lowest8.3Sweden

Median26.527 EU countries

European Union (27)27.7History

Map of EU countries, 2021

Under 14
14 to 21
21 to 33
33 to 38
38 and over

%, 2021. 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, 2021

%. 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	2021 (%)	Change on 2020
1	Romania	60	+3.9 pts
2	Greece	48.6	-4.5 pts
3	Croatia	42.1	-7.3 pts
4	Bulgaria	41.1	+1.8 pts
5	Hungary	40.9	+2.5 pts
6	Cyprus	37.6	-4.9 pts
7	Italy	37.5	+1.8 pts
8	Portugal Series break	36.7	-1.4 pts
9	Slovakia	34.9	+0.1 pts
10	Lithuania	33.5	-2 pts
11	Malta	33.1	+0.2 pts
12	Spain	32.7	-1.8 pts
13	Latvia	32.4	+3.8 pts
14	Poland	26.5	-2.9 pts
15	Ireland	24.6	-3.6 pts
16	France	21.2	-1.1 pts
17	Belgium	20.3	-1.2 pts
18	Germany	19.9	-2.5 pts
19	Estonia	19.3	-3.8 pts
20	Czechia	18.3	-0.4 pts
21	Slovenia	16.5	-1.9 pts
22	Netherlands	12.8	-0.4 pts
23	Denmark	12.7	+0.4 pts
24	Austria	12.3	-0.5 pts
25	Luxembourg Series break	11.6	+0.2 pts
26	Finland	10.1	-2.5 pts
27	Sweden	8.3	-1.4 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, 2021) [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, 2021. 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=2021. 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, 2021. 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=2021.

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, 2021 [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=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_people_2021,
  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, 2021}},
  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=2021. 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, 2021
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=2021
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/cannot-afford-holiday/eu-countries?period=2021.
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 60% in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

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

Sweden, with 8.3% in 2021.

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.