Holidays in Europe: who are the luckiest?

Are you wondering how many days of holiday you still have left to take this year? Across Europe, it’s interesting to observe the differences between countries when it comes to paid leave and public holidays. Let’s take a quick look at our neighbours.

Public holidays

Across the 27 European Union countries, the average number of public holidays is 12.4 days. The minimum is 9 days in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. At the top of the list is Romania with 17 days, followed closely by Lithuania with 16, and Cyprus, Slovakia and Slovenia with 15 public holidays each. It is worth noting that, in some countries, such as Germany, certain regions have a higher number of public holidays.

In Luxembourg, there are 11 legal public holidays. One advantage is that, as in some other European countries, public holidays that fall on a weekend are carried over and added to employees’ leave entitlement. In contrast, countries such as Spain move the public holiday to the following Monday, creating a long weekend.

Paid annual leave

When it comes to paid leave, the clear winner is none other than Luxembourg! The legal minimum in the Grand Duchy is 26 days per year.

The average number of days’ holiday in the European Union is 21. Fewer than a third of the 27 Member States have more than this. The minimum, meanwhile, is 20 days and applies to around 15 countries.

Some countries also have specific arrangements, such as increasing the number of paid leave days based on age and/or professional experience. This is notably the case in Poland, Slovakia and Greece.

In addition, collective agreements can further increase the number of leave days depending on the sector and negotiated conditions.

The average number of annual leave days in the European Union is enough to make our neighbours across the Atlantic green with envy, where the average number of paid holidays per American is just 9 days a year!

If the amount of statutory leave is a key factor in your choice of which country to work in, be sure to double-check the laws before you take the plunge!

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