Vacation for everyone? Every fourth in Germany stays at home!

Vacation for everyone? Every fourth in Germany stays at home!

In Germany, almost every fourth citizen cannot afford a one -week vacation trip. According to current surveys based on data from the Federal Statistical Office, it is over 22 % of the population who have to stay at home due to financial restrictions. This primarily affects single parents, 43.2 % of which have to exclude the possibility of a vacation. Families with several children are also particularly stressful, since 29 % of households with two adults and three or more children cannot go on vacation. In comparison, the proportion in households with one or two children is 16 %.

The results show that in 2024 a total of 21 % of the German population lived in households who could not afford a week's day. This corresponds to 17.4 million people, which is a slight decline compared to the 23 % in the previous year. The situation is particularly challenging for living alone, in which almost 29 % of the fact that they cannot afford a vacation.

offer of conversation and personal stories

The editorial team of The time would like to get into conversation on this topic. Affected people are asked to share their personal stories, experiences and thoughts. Key questions to these people include what it feels like to have to do without vacation and what long -term effects this has on the children.

In addition, it is also asked about the political demands to improve this situation. The editorial team has set up a contact form and an email address-community-redaction@zeit.de-to make the dialogue easier. Selected articles could be published anonymously to create a protected space for reporting.

EU comparison

In a European comparison, it turns out that Germany is below the EU average with a share of 27 % of households that cannot afford a one-week vacation trip. The least affected are households in Luxembourg (9 %), Sweden (12 %) and the Netherlands (13 %). The high proportions in Romania with 59 %, Greece with 46 %and Bulgaria with 41 %, which illustrate the problems in vacation income within the EU.

The survey that this data delivers comes from the EU Silc survey, which has been integrated as a understitch sample in the microcensus since 2020. This survey measures the risk of poverty and living conditions in Germany as well as the EU and uses the self -assessment of households for financial vacation planning as an indicator of material and social deprivation.