Overview
- Germany’s statistical office reports that 21% of the population — about 17.3 million people — said in the 2025 survey they could not afford a one‑week holiday.
- Destatis published the final EU‑SILC 2025 results on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, which are based on the microcensus weighting frame from the 2022 census and use households’ own assessments of affordability.
- The problem is heavily income‑linked: 48% of people in the lowest income quintile (about €1,600 or less equivalised net per month) said they could not afford a week away from home.
- Household make‑up matters: 29% of single adults and 39% of people in single‑parent households reported they could not afford a one‑week holiday, while two‑adult households without children reported lower shares.
- Germany sits below the EU average of 28% but EU results vary widely, from about 61% in Romania to 11% in Luxembourg, and the holiday question is treated as one subjective indicator of material and social deprivation.