In 2019, 45 per cent of Cypriots were unable to afford a one-week holiday away from home, the fourth highest proportion in the EU, the latest Eurostat figures show.
Among EU member states, Romania recorded the highest share of individuals in this situation, with the majority of Romanians (54 per cent) being unable to afford a one-week annual holiday in 2019. Residents of Greece came second, with 49 per cent, followed by Croatia (48 per cent), Cyprus (45 per cent) and Italy (44 per cent).
At the lower-end of the scale, only 10 per cent of people in Sweden were unable to afford a one-week annual holiday, followed by Demark and Luxembourg, both with 11 per cent.
A total of 29 per cent of residents of EU countries aged 16 or over were unable to afford paying for an annual one-week holiday last year. This share has gradually decreased since 2010, when 39 per cent of Europeans could not afford it.
In Cyprus, the 2019 share was lower than in 2010, when 47.8 per cent were unable to pay for the annual holiday. However, the proportion was more than 50 per cent from 2012 until 2018, peaking at 58.9 per cent during the economic crisis in 2014.
Compared with 2010, the percentage of people who were unable to afford a one-week holiday away from home each year declined across all member states, with the exception of Italy and Greece where it increased 4 percentage points (pp) and 3pp respectively. The largest declines were recorded in Latvia (-35pp) and Malta (-30pp).
