Summer is holiday season across Europe, yet millions of people still cannot afford to take a week away from home. However, the share of Europeans unable to afford a holiday has fallen significantly.
In 2025, 27.5% of the EU's population aged 16 or older were unable to afford one week of annual holiday away from home. This was 35.2% in 2015, representing a decline of 7.7 percentage points and a significant improvement in holiday affordability.
In five countries, the share of people unable to afford a holiday increased over the past decade, although the rise was marginal in some cases. These were Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany and Austria. The three Nordic countries saw the largest increases, but their rates remained among the lowest in Europe.
Germany and Austria also bucked the broader trend, with around one in five people unable to afford a week-long holiday in 2025. The share increased by 1.2 percentage points in Germany and 0.3 points in Austria over the decade.
Holiday economics
