Vacation days by country: who gets the most paid time off
By Skyler Bissell · Updated August 2026 · computed from cityparity's engine data
Statutory or customary paid vacation plus public holidays, for all 70 countries in the cityparity dataset, with the gap priced at a $150,000 salary (one workday there is worth about $577). The US baseline is 11 days, all of them federal holidays, because there is no US federal statutory minimum for vacation. We priced what the gap means for a real offer in the hidden paycheck.
Two holiday columns, and the difference between them is the point. Statutory holidays is what the law lists. Holidays you get is how many of those land on a working day once you account for whether the country replaces a weekend holiday with a weekday. Sweden lists 13 and delivers 7.3, because two of them are pinned to a Saturday by the statute itself. The United States delivers all 11. The totals and the dollar figures use the second column.
| Country | Vacation days | Statutory holidays | Holidays you get | Total | vs US | Gap at $150k/yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 25 | 13 | 10.4 | 35.4 | +24.4 | ≈ +$14,077 |
| Georgia | 24 | 17 | 11.3 | 35.3 | +24.3 | ≈ +$14,019 |
| Azerbaijan | 15 | 20 | 19.7 | 34.7 | +23.7 | ≈ +$13,673 |
| Spain | 22 | 14 | 12.1 | 34.1 | +23.1 | ≈ +$13,327 |
| Peru | 22 | 16 | 12 | 34 | +23 | ≈ +$13,269 |
| France | 25 | 11 | 8.7 | 33.7 | +22.7 | ≈ +$13,096 |
| Kenya | 21 | 13 | 11.4 | 32.4 | +21.4 | ≈ +$12,346 |
| Finland | 25 | 11 | 7.3 | 32.3 | +21.3 | ≈ +$12,288 |
| Sweden | 25 | 13 | 7.3 | 32.3 | +21.3 | ≈ +$12,288 |
| Denmark | 25 | 10 | 7.1 | 32.1 | +21.1 | ≈ +$12,173 |
| Bulgaria | 20 | 12 | 12 | 32 | +21 | ≈ +$12,115 |
| New Zealand | 20 | 12 | 12 | 32 | +21 | ≈ +$12,115 |
| Brazil | 22 | 12 | 9.7 | 31.7 | +20.7 | ≈ +$11,942 |
| Romania | 20 | 15 | 11.6 | 31.6 | +20.6 | ≈ +$11,885 |
| Armenia | 20 | 16 | 11.4 | 31.4 | +20.4 | ≈ +$11,769 |
| Colombia | 15 | 18 | 16.3 | 31.3 | +20.3 | ≈ +$11,712 |
| Kuwait | 22 | 13 | 9.3 | 31.3 | +20.3 | ≈ +$11,712 |
| Portugal | 22 | 13 | 9.1 | 31.1 | +20.1 | ≈ +$11,596 |
| UAE | 22 | 12 | 8.6 | 30.6 | +19.6 | ≈ +$11,308 |
| Belgium | 20 | 10 | 10 | 30 | +19 | ≈ +$10,962 |
| Ireland | 20 | 10 | 10 | 30 | +19 | ≈ +$10,962 |
| Kazakhstan | 17 | 13 | 13 | 30 | +19 | ≈ +$10,962 |
| Czechia | 20 | 13 | 9.9 | 29.9 | +18.9 | ≈ +$10,904 |
| Greece | 20 | 14 | 9.7 | 29.7 | +18.7 | ≈ +$10,788 |
| Poland | 20 | 13 | 9.7 | 29.7 | +18.7 | ≈ +$10,788 |
| Lithuania | 20 | 16 | 9.6 | 29.6 | +18.6 | ≈ +$10,731 |
| Norway | 21 | 12 | 8.6 | 29.6 | +18.6 | ≈ +$10,731 |
| Slovenia | 20 | 13 | 9.6 | 29.6 | +18.6 | ≈ +$10,731 |
| Serbia | 20 | 11 | 8.9 | 28.9 | +17.9 | ≈ +$10,327 |
| Australia | 20 | 11 | 8.7 | 28.7 | +17.7 | ≈ +$10,212 |
| Hungary | 20 | 11 | 8.7 | 28.7 | +17.7 | ≈ +$10,212 |
| South Korea | 15 | 15 | 13.6 | 28.6 | +17.6 | ≈ +$10,154 |
| Germany | 20 | 10 | 8.3 | 28.3 | +17.3 | ≈ +$9,981 |
| Italy | 20 | 12 | 8.1 | 28.1 | +17.1 | ≈ +$9,865 |
| United Kingdom | 20 | 8 | 8 | 28 | +17 | ≈ +$9,808 |
| Netherlands | 20 | 11 | 7.6 | 27.6 | +16.6 | ≈ +$9,577 |
| Switzerland | 20 | 9 | 7.6 | 27.6 | +16.6 | ≈ +$9,577 |
| Estonia | 20 | 12 | 7.4 | 27.4 | +16.4 | ≈ +$9,462 |
| Sri Lanka | 14 | 18 | 13.1 | 27.1 | +16.1 | ≈ +$9,288 |
| Uruguay | 17 | 12 | 9.7 | 26.7 | +15.7 | ≈ +$9,058 |
| Chile | 15 | 16 | 11 | 26 | +15 | ≈ +$8,654 |
| South Africa | 15 | 12 | 10.6 | 25.6 | +14.6 | ≈ +$8,423 |
| Egypt | 15 | 14 | 10.3 | 25.3 | +14.3 | ≈ +$8,250 |
| Ghana | 15 | 13 | 10.1 | 25.1 | +14.1 | ≈ +$8,135 |
| Bangladesh | 15 | 14 | 10 | 25 | +14 | ≈ +$8,077 |
| Thailand | 6 | 19 | 19 | 25 | +14 | ≈ +$8,077 |
| Uzbekistan | 15 | 10 | 10 | 25 | +14 | ≈ +$8,077 |
| Indonesia | 12 | 17 | 12.7 | 24.7 | +13.7 | ≈ +$7,904 |
| Japan | 10 | 16 | 14.3 | 24.3 | +13.3 | ≈ +$7,673 |
| Morocco | 15 | 13 | 9.3 | 24.3 | +13.3 | ≈ +$7,673 |
| Saudi Arabia | 15 | 13 | 9.3 | 24.3 | +13.3 | ≈ +$7,673 |
| Turkey | 14 | 14 | 10 | 24 | +13 | ≈ +$7,500 |
| Vietnam | 12 | 12 | 12 | 24 | +13 | ≈ +$7,500 |
| Hong Kong | 7 | 17 | 16 | 23 | +12 | ≈ +$6,923 |
| India | 12 | 15 | 10.7 | 22.7 | +11.7 | ≈ +$6,750 |
| Argentina | 10 | 16 | 12.3 | 22.3 | +11.3 | ≈ +$6,519 |
| Ecuador | 11 | 11 | 11 | 22 | +11 | ≈ +$6,346 |
| Qatar | 15 | 9 | 6.7 | 21.7 | +10.7 | ≈ +$6,173 |
| Canada | 10 | 11 | 11 | 21 | +10 | ≈ +$5,769 |
| Malaysia | 8 | 15 | 13 | 21 | +10 | ≈ +$5,769 |
| Pakistan | 10 | 14 | 10 | 20 | +9 | ≈ +$5,192 |
| Taiwan | 7 | 12 | 12 | 19 | +8 | ≈ +$4,615 |
| Israel | 12 | 9 | 6.4 | 18.4 | +7.4 | ≈ +$4,269 |
| China | 5 | 13 | 13 | 18 | +7 | ≈ +$4,038 |
| Singapore | 7 | 11 | 11 | 18 | +7 | ≈ +$4,038 |
| Mexico | 12 | 7 | 5.9 | 17.9 | +6.9 | ≈ +$3,981 |
| Costa Rica | 10 | 9 | 7.6 | 17.6 | +6.6 | ≈ +$3,808 |
| Nigeria | 6 | 12 | 9.1 | 15.1 | +4.1 | ≈ +$2,365 |
| Philippines | 5 | 12 | 9.4 | 14.4 | +3.4 | ≈ +$1,962 |
| USA | 0 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 0 | Baseline |
Vacation days are the statutory minimum our engine models per country, which is why the US shows 0: there is no federal minimum, and the 11 federal holidays bind government agencies rather than private employers. The holidays-you-get column is computed, not estimated: we run each country's statutory holiday list over the full 400-year calendar cycle and count how many land Monday to Friday, then add back the ones a substitute-day law moves to a weekday. Israel and the Gulf states are counted against their own working week. Value uses salary ÷ 260 workdays. Method and per-country sources: methodology.
More country data
Figures come from cityparity's per-city engine, computed from official sources with a per-value audit trail; currency conversions use rates from 2026-08-18 and drift daily. Treat any single number as a strong estimate and run your own. See the methodology.