Approximately one third of the people in Cyprus are currently struggling to find the money for a weekly get-away, according to new Eurostat data released on Monday.

Specifically, the EU’s statistical service reported that 33.2 per cent of Cyprus residents aged 16 and over were unable to afford a one-week annual holiday away from home in 2024.

While the figure marks a notable improvement compared with previous years, with the figure having stood at 45 per cent in 2019 and 58.9 per cent in 2014, the island continues to rank above the European Union average.

Eurostat reported that 27 per cent of people across all EU member states said they could not afford such a break last year.

The share fell by 1.5 percentage points compared with 2023 and is significantly lower, by 10.6 percentage points, than in 2014, reflecting a decade of steady progress across much of the bloc.

However, the data also highlight sharp disparities between countries. The highest proportions of people unable to afford a week’s annual holiday were recorded in Romania (58.6 per cent), Greece (46 per cent) and Bulgaria (41.4 per cent).

In contrast, only 8.9 per cent of people in Luxembourg, 11.6 per cent in Sweden, and 13 per cent in the Netherlands reported being unable to take a one-week break away from home in 2024.

Cyprus, although no longer among the EU’s worst performers, still faces challenges. Between 2014 and 2019, the island achieved a substantial decline in holiday deprivation, falling by 13.9 percentage points in five years.

Yet since then, progress has been slower, and the latest figures show that one in three Cypriots remains unable to afford even a modest annual holiday.