Although most citizens look forward to every 'red letter' in the calendar, the economic calculation shows that such a practice carries a high cost for the national economy.

According to data reported by tportal.hr, Croatia, with its 14 public holidays and feast days, has placed itself at the very top of the European Union in terms of the number of non-working days. While workers enjoy breaks, the state treasury and the real sector record significant losses because every absence from the workplace directly affects total production and annual gross domestic product.

European examples of savings through abolishing holidays

How expensive one day off actually is is best illustrated by the example of Denmark, which made a radical move in 2024. The Danish government abolished the 340-year-old religious holiday Store Bededag solely to raise funds for the military and defense. The estimate was clear, because removing just one non-working day generates around 400 million euros in additional tax revenue. Portugal took a similar path back in 2012, when due to a severe economic crisis it temporarily abolished as many as 4 public holidays, turning Republic Day and All Saints' Day into ordinary working days until the economy recovered in 2016.

The mathematics of loss and the impact on Croatian GDP

Analysts Lucas Rosso and Rodrigo Wagner conducted extensive research in 200 countries and found that each additional non-working day reduces annual production by 0.08 percent. Although that percentage seems negligible to laypeople, at the level of large systems such as Germany's it means a loss of 3.4 billion euros per day. In the Croatian context, where GDP for 2025 amounted to around 85.905 billion euros, the calculation shows that non-working days cost us approximately 68.7 million euros annually. This means that each individual holiday we spend at home costs the state around 4.9 million euros in lost value.

Croatia near the very top of the non-workers ranking

Data from the European Labour Authority confirm that Croatia is a record-holder in the region and beyond. With 14 non-working days, we are in the company of Lithuania and Cyprus, which have 15 days each, while one of the world's strongest economies, Germany, counts only 9 holidays at the national level. The difference of 5 or 6 days between Croatia and Germany, in economic terms, means that our economy knowingly gives up almost 0.48 percent of GDP every year. Although spending in hospitality and tourism during holidays somewhat mitigates that decline, it cannot fully compensate for the slowdown in other branches of industry.

The other side of the coin and the importance of rest for workers

Experts from the International Monetary Fund nevertheless warn that the economy cannot be viewed exclusively through cold numbers, because the relationship between working hours and productivity is not linear. The longer people work without a break, the more drastically their efficiency declines, while a rested worker achieves significantly better results. In addition, research has confirmed that in years with more non-working days there is a measurable increase in the general feeling of happiness among citizens and a significantly lower number of workplace accidents. This raises the question of whether the price of several million euros per day is actually a justified investment in the health and satisfaction of the nation.

Croatia finds itself in a specific divide between the desire to maintain a high standard of living and the tradition of numerous non-working days that places us at the very top of Europe. While economic experts rightly warn of multimillion losses that slow GDP growth, the social component and the psychological well-being of citizens must not be neglected. Balancing fiscal responsibility and the need for rest will remain one of the key challenges for future creators of Croatian economic policy, especially in comparison with disciplined northern neighbors who turn every working hour into a strong competitive advantage.