Compared to other European countries, summer holidays in Austria not only start relatively late, they also do not last particularly long, as a look at the EU education database Eurydice shows. In the south, children tend to have the longest time off in the summer.
When Austrian students receive their annual report card at the beginning of July, children and young people in most other European countries have already had a long break, according to the holiday calendar of the 37 countries participating in the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme. The first students start their long holidays between the end of May and the beginning of June, for example in Latvia, Finland, Iceland and Ireland – although there are sometimes different holiday regulations for primary and older students.
Sometimes more than 12 weeks of vacation
The length of the summer holidays in Austria is rather short compared to other European countries: 12 countries are in the eight to ten week category, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia, as well as Finland, Luxembourg and Cyprus. The holidays are shorter than eight weeks in only eight countries or regions (Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, France, Liechtenstein, the French Community of Belgium and several German countries and cantons in Switzerland).
In 18 countries, however, there are at least ten weeks of school-free time in the summer. Pupils in most regions of Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta, Albania, Ireland, Latvia and Iceland have more than 12 weeks of holiday. Here too, however, primary school pupils sometimes have to stay in school longer than older pupils. In another ten countries – including Spain, Turkey and North Macedonia, as well as Hungary and Estonia – the summer holidays last between ten and 12 weeks.
The Ministry of Education is still not considering shortening the summer holidays in Austria. The children need this time off to relax, according to Education Minister Martin Polaschek (ÖVP).
