When it comes to paid annual leave, it seems us Europeans get the best deal, with some employers offering a staggering 40 days paid holiday per calendar year, according to a recent survey carried out Expedia Vacations.

The survey, carried out on over 7,000 people from 20 countries, asked how many vacation days people received per year, and how many of them they actually use.

The results show that our American friends across the pond get just 2 weeks paid vacation time per year, with the survey suggesting that the “average American worker earns 14 days off per year, but only takes 12 of them,  and that “as much as a quarter of Americans do not have any vacation time at all.”

Workers from Italy, India, Australia, and Japan are less likely to use up their holiday entitlements than any other nationality, while those in France, Brazil, Denmark and Spain use up every single day.

At the very bottom end of the holiday scale, the citizens of Japan and South Korea are the most holiday-deprived off all. Workers in Japan get just 11 days paid annual leave per year, but use only half, and the poor South Koreans get just 10 days holiday per year.

So, who has got it right, and what is a fair amount of paid holidays per year?

With the current economic crisis in Greece, one could object that the 30 days paid annual leave, in addition to the 12 public holidays per year, has had a negative impact on the productivity of the country, but Germany remains one of Europe’s leading economies, and they do so with an average of six weeks paid holiday!

As someone who loves to holiday, I think 30 days paid annual leave should be a legal requirement!  What do you think? Drop us a line and let us know how many holidays you are taking this year.