For many people in the European Union (EU), summer means holidays and travel. However, it is estimated that 28.3% of the EU population aged 16 or over could not afford a one-week annual holiday away from home in 2018. In 2013 the corresponding proportion was 39.5%.

Among the 28 EU Member States, the countries with the highest proportions of individuals in this situation were Romania (58.9%), Croatia (51.3%, provisional data), Greece (51%) and Cyprus (51.0%, provisional data).

In contrast, the EU Member States with the lowest percentage of people unable to afford a one week annual holiday in 2018 were Luxembourg (10.9%, 2017 data) and Sweden (9.7%).

The source dataset is Eurostat table ilc_mdes02.

Over the last five years, the largest falls in the proportion unable to afford a one-week annual holiday away from home were in Bulgaria (down 35.8 percentage points since 2013 to 30.5% in 2018) and in Poland (down 26 percentage points since 2013 to 34.6% in 2018). Greece was the only EU Member State in which the proportion increased over the same five-year period, up 2 percentage points to 51.0% in 2018.

A full overview of the Eurostat statistics available on income, social inclusion and living conditions is available here.

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