Revealed: Top 10 cities with the most and fewest vacation days

Residents of the Saudi capital Riyadh receive the most paid vacation days (not including national holidays) a year, according to a study by Swiss bank UBS.

The 2018 ‘Prices and Earnings’ report, which ranks 77 cities based on various metrics, showed Riyadh well ahead of the competition with 37 vacation days annually, compared to 33.3 in the Russian capital Moscow and 32.3 in nearby St Petersburg.

Other Gulf cities also performed favourably in the ranking with the Qatari capital Doha in fifth with 32 days and Manama in sixth with the same number.

Further down the list, Dubai stood in 10th with 30 days, the same as Rio de Janeiro in ninth and Lima in 11th.

Cities with the most vacation days
(According to the UBS ‘Prices and Earnings’ report)

1. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – 37.0
2. Moscow, Russia – 33.3
3. St Petersburg, Russia – 32.3
4. Barcelona, Spain – 32.0
5. Doha, Qatar – 32.0
6. Manama, Bahrain – 32.0
7. Amsterdam, Netherlands – 31.2
8. Paris, France – 30.0
9. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – 30.0
10. Dubai, UAE – 30.0

In contrast, residents of the city at the bottom of the ranking, Nigeria’s Lagos, receive less than a sixth of the vacation time as those in Riyadh.

The list of 10 cities with the fewest vacation days is for the most part dominated by urban centres in Asia and the United States.

Surprisingly, Los Angeles, – which stands at the top of the UBS ranking this year for purchasing power – is the fourth worst in the world for vacation days with just 10.1.

Read: Dubai among world’s most expensive cities for expats

Other notable entrants include the Chinese capital Beijing in 75th with 9.7 days and Mumbai in 73rd with 10.4.

Cities with the fewest vacation days
(According to the UBS ‘Prices and Earnings’ report)

1. Lagos, Nigeria – 6.1
2. Hanoi, Vietnam – 8.0
3. Beijing, China – 9.7
4. Los Angeles, US – 10.1
5. Mumbai, India – 10.4
6. Taipei, Taiwan – 11.2
7. Shanghai, China – 11.7
8. Jakarta, Indonesia – 12.0
9. Miami, US – 12.1
10. Bangkok, Thailand – 12.3