Europe crowding index
The busiest school-holiday weeks in Europe
This week about 4.4 million pupils (9%) are on a school break. The busiest week of 2026/27 starts on 28 Dec 2026, with 47.7 million pupils (100%) off school.
Every week of the school year, weighted by how many pupils follow each calendar: 47.7 million pupils in 162 school calendars, from official dates only.
Pupils on a break, week by week, 2026/27
September to June. Summer weeks are added once every country has published the start of the next school year.
The 10 busiest weeks
Quiet weeks ahead
- 9–13 Nov 20261% of pupils off
- 16–20 Nov 20261% of pupils off
- 23–27 Nov 20260% of pupils off
- 30 Nov – 4 Dec 20260% of pupils off
- 14–18 Dec 20261% of pupils off
- 11–15 Jan 20271% of pupils off
- 8–12 Mar 20271% of pupils off
- 15–19 Mar 20271% of pupils off
Weeks when fewer than 2% of pupils in the calendars we cover are off: fewer families on the road and in resorts.
How the index is made
Pupil numbers come from Eurostat (school year 2023/24: primary, lower secondary and general upper secondary), split by region; Romanian counties and Nordic municipalities use their national statistics. Each pupil counts once, for the share of Monday to Friday their school is closed.
Only calendars we cover are counted: Malta, some Romanian counties' February week and Nordic municipalities we do not list yet are left out of both the count and the total. Pupils in vocational schools and pre-schools are not included.