Which countries have the most public holidays?

SINGAPORE – In the pursuit of a more successful life/work balance (and more time to travel!), Wego, the leading travel search site in the Asia Pacific and Middle East, reveals which countries around the world have the most public holidays.
 

“There’s no better remedy for the post-holiday blues and start of a new year than to look ahead and plan your next holiday,” said Joachim Holte, Chief Marketing Officer of Wego. “Depending on where you live however, some of us have a lot more days off to play with than others!”
 

“India has the most number of public holidays at around 21 days each year, even more depending on which state you live in,” he observed. “In the Asia/Pacific region, the Philippines follows with 18, 17 for China and Hong Kong, Thailand receives 16, 15 in Malaysia and Vietnam, 14 for Indonesia, 13 in Taiwan and South Korea, 11 in Singapore and 10 in Australia and New Zealand.”
 

“China is not only one of the fastest growing travel segments in the world, their government makes it easy for workers to take longer breaks. Should the year’s public holidays fall on a weekend the government swaps the official dates with weekdays, maximising time off,” said Holte. “So this year, the total of 17 public holidays equates to 28 days off. Similarly the Taiwanese total of 13 public holidays results in 29 days off inclusive of weekends.”
 

Europeans don’t fare too badly with Sweden and Lithuania offering the most at 15 (the latter with an additional 28 days of paid leave), followed by 14 in Slovakia, 13 in Austria, Belgium and Norway and 12 in Finland and Russia. Spain and the UK are not so holiday minded, with only eight. In the United Arab Emirates, another fast developing travel market, you can expect 11 public holidays in 2015. 
 

“Mexico has the lowest in the world with only seven public holidays each year although the government permits a few more ‘optional’ public holidays, at the employer’s discretion.” 
 

“Some countries however provide a little more in the way of statutory holiday leave which can top up public holidays nicely,” Holte continued. “The Philippines public holiday count of 18 is increased with an additional five days mandatory holiday leave, and while Australian workers receive around ten public holidays depending on which state you live in, annual holiday leave entitlement totals an additional 20 working days.”
 

“Travel is like a reward for all those hard working days we spend at the office but the amount of paid leave is what restricts us from making the most of those opportunities,” added Holte. “Combining public holidays with your annual leave is the best way to maximise time off, take trips and preserve a healthy life/work balance.”
 

“With this in mind we’ve developed a downloadable public holiday calendar for APAC, India and the UAE, so travellers can plan ahead, and by having something to look forward to, ease back into a brand new working year.”