Using data from the European statistical office (Eurostat), the ETUC notes that, globally, 28 percent of EU citizens cannot afford a week's holiday away from home, rising to 59.5 percent among people whose income is below the risk-of-poverty threshold.

Greece is the worst-off Member State, with 88.9 percent of people at risk of poverty unable to pay their holidays, followed by Romania (86.8 percent), Croatia (84.7 percent), Cyprus (79.2 percent) and Slovakia (76.1 percent ).
In Portugal, 72.6 percent of people at risk of poverty cannot afford holidays, with an EU average of 59.5 percent. At the other end of the table are Finland (30 percent), Luxembourg (30.8 percent), Denmark (31.7 percent) and Sweden (32.3 percent).

According to the ETUC, many Europeans with incomes below the median are unemployed or retired, but this group also includes millions of low-paid workers, especially those earning the legal minimum wage. The population at risk of poverty is one whose equivalent income is below the poverty line defined as 60 percent of the median income per equivalent adult.