Migrant integration statistics - housing

Data extracted on 8 October 2024.

Planned article update: October 2025.

Highlights

In 2023, the home ownership rate among nationals (74.0%) was more than twice as high as that of citizens of other EU countries (35.7%) and more than three times as high as that of non-EU citizens (23.4%).

34.2% of non-EU citizens lived in overcrowded housing in 2023; for citizens of another EU country the share was 20.8% while for nationals it was 13.7%.

In 2023, 21.0% of non-EU citizens faced a significant burden on their disposable income from housing costs, compared with 16.2% for citizens from other EU countries and 8.3% for nationals.

Figure 1: Main indicators on housing, people aged 18 years or over, by citizenship, EU, 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvps15), (ilc_lvho15) and (ilc_lvho25)

This article presents European statistics for three main housing indicators: home ownership, overcrowding and housing cost overburden rates. These rates are analysed according to an individual’s citizenship.

The data presented in this article come from the EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) and refer to people aged 18 years or over. Note that the analysis in the text is made only for countries with reliable data, while the graphs present countries with both reliable data and data with limited reliability.

This article forms part of an online publication on migrant integration statistics.

Full article

Key findings

Poor housing conditions, which may include overcrowding and deprivation issues, along with unaffordable housing costs, can be major barriers that prevent people from achieving an acceptable standard of living.

In the EU in 2023:

Home ownership was more common among nationals than foreign citizens in all EU countries; the home ownership rate among nationals (74.0%) was more than twice as high as that of citizens of other EU countries (35.7%) and more than three times as high as that of non-EU citizens (23.4%).

Foreign citizens were more likely to live in overcrowded housing than nationals. In particular, this concerned non-EU citizens of whom 34.2% lived in overcrowding housing, which was more than twice as high as for nationals (13.7%).

Foreign citizens were also more likely to experience overburden with housing costs. Around 20% of non-EU citizens reported spending 40% or more of their household disposable income on housing, compared to 8% among nationals.

Home ownership rate

Less than one quarter of non-EU citizens own their own home

The home ownership rate in the EU was much higher among nationals living in their country of citizenship than it was among the two groups of foreign citizens who were either citizens of other EU countries or non-EU citizens (Figure 1).

Between 2014 and 2023, the development of the home ownership rate for non-EU citizens followed a downward trend, whereas the rate slightly increased for nationals. As a result, the gap in home ownership between non-EU citizens and nationals increased – from 40.4 percentage points (pp) in 2014 to 50.6 pp in 2023.

When analysed by country of birth, similar developments were observed in the EU. The home ownership rate was relatively stable between 2014 and 2019 for native-born people, with a slight growth in 2020; while the rates fell between 2014 and 2023 for both, non-EU born people and for those born in another EU country.

Figure 1: Home ownership rate of people aged 18 years or over, by citizenship or country of birth, EU, 2014–2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvps15) and (ilc_lvps16)

Among EU countries, the highest home ownership rate for nationals in 2023 was in Romania (95.8%) (Figure 2). This rate was also above 90% in Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary and Lithuania. All EU countries reported home ownership rates for nationals above 50%, with the lowest in Germany (52.3%).

For non-EU citizens, there was a much greater variation between the EU countries for home ownership rates in 2023. While a rate of 80.2% was observed in Latvia, it was below 50% in most EU countries, with the lowest rates below 20% in Austria, Slovenia, Germany and Italy.

For citizens of other EU countries, the highest home ownership rate observed in 2023 was in Estonia (56.7%). By contrast, the lowest rate was in Germany (23.2%).

An analysis of home ownership rates in 2023 for the two subpopulations of foreign citizens is available for 19 EU countries. In 17 of these, the rates for citizens of other EU countries were higher than those for non-EU citizens. The exceptions to this were Ireland and Estonia, where home ownership rates for non-EU citizens were higher.

Figure 2: Home ownership rate of people aged 18 years or over, by citizenship, 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvps15)

Overcrowding rate

1 in 3 of non-EU citizens live in overcrowded households

Between 2014 and 2023, the overcrowding rate for nationals fell from 15.9% to 13.7%. By contrast, the overcrowding rate for non-EU citizens slightly increased, from 32.6% to 34.2% (Figure 3). As a result, the gap between the rates widened, from 16.7 pp in 2014 to 20.5 pp in 2023.

When analysed by country of birth, similar developments were observed in the EU: a relatively steady decrease in the overcrowding rate for native-born people alongside larger increases for non-EU born people. Additional information available by country of birth show that the overcrowding rate for people born in another EU country surpassed that of native-born people starting in 2019.

Figure 3: Overcrowding rate of people aged 18 years or over, by citizenship or country of birth, EU, 2013–2022
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvho15) and (ilc_lvho16)

The highest overcrowding rates recorded for nationals were in Latvia (37.0%), Romania (35.2%) and Poland (31.5%). The lowest rates were observed in Malta (1.0%), Cyprus (1.4%) and Ireland (2.0%).

The overcrowding rates for non-EU citizens were the highest in Poland (53.3%), Italy (50.7%) and Sweden (48.3%), while the lowest were in Cyprus (4.0%), Ireland (9.1%) and Malta (10.8%).

For citizens of other EU countries, the overcrowding rates were the highest in Italy (39.9%), Greece (33.1%) and Germany (24.9%). In contrast, the lowest rates were observed in Malta (0.3%), followed by the Netherlands (4.8%) and Cyprus (5.4%).

An analysis of overcrowding rates in 2023 for the two subpopulations of foreign citizens is available for 19 EU countries. In 17 of these, the overcrowding rates for citizens of other EU countries were lower than those for non-EU citizens. The only exceptions to this pattern were Ireland and Cyprus.

Figure 4: Overcrowding rate of people aged 18 years or over, by citizenship, 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvho15)

Housing cost overburden rate

Foreign citizens are more likely to experience overburden with housing costs

In the EU, the housing cost overburden rate for nationals decreased between 2014 and 2020, falling from 11.0% to 7.2%. In 2021, this development reversed, and the rate increased to 8.3% in 2023 (Figure 5).

Between 2016 and 2021, developments of the housing cost overburden rate for non-EU citizens were more volatile: there was initially a downward trend with an increase in 2021, followed by a drop in 2022 and 2023.

When analysed by country of birth, similar developments were observed:

a decline in the housing cost overburden rate for native-born people between 2014 and 2020 followed by an increase between 2021 to 2023;
more volatility in the rates for non-EU born people.

Additional data for people born in other EU countries showed an overall decrease in the housing cost overburden rate between 2014 and 2023.

Figure 5: Housing cost overburden rate of people aged 18 years or over, by citizenship or country of birth, EU, 2014–2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvho25) and (ilc_lvho26)

In all EU countries, housing cost overburden rates in 2023 were lower for nationals than for two subpopulations of foreign citizens (Figure 6). The largest differences between the rates of nationals and non-EU citizens were observed in the Netherlands (26.7 pp), Portugal (26.0 pp) and Spain (25.9 pp). The same three countries also recorded the largest gaps between the rates of nationals and citizens of other EU countries: Spain (19.8 pp), the Netherlands (16.8 pp) and Portugal (14.6 pp).

Looking at the two subpopulations of foreign citizens, in a vast majority of countries the rates for citizens of other EU countries were lower than those for non-EU citizens (18 out of the 19 EU countries). The only exception to this pattern was Denmark, where the housing cost overburden rate for non-EU citizens was lower.

Figure 6: Housing cost overburden rate of people aged 18 years or over, by citizenship, 2023
(%)
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvho25)

Source data for tables and graphs

Migrant integration statistics – housing: figures

Data sources

The data used in this article are derived from EU-SILC. EU-SILC data are compiled annually and are the main source of statistics that measure income and living conditions in Europe; it is also the main source of information used to link different aspects relating to the quality of life of households and individuals.

The reference population for the information presented in this article is all private households and their current members residing in the territory of an EU country (or non-EU member country) at the time of data collection; people living in collective households and in institutions are generally excluded from the target population. The data for the EU are population-weighted averages of national data.

For more information on the data sources used, please consult EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) methodology.

In several EU countries, the detailed classification of foreign citizens and migrants by country of birth identifies quite small numbers of people. As the data source is a sample survey, the reliability of data in such cases may be low. Data that are of low quality are published with an appropriate footnote while some data cannot be published for reasons of confidentiality.

Context

Housing is considered an important element for the well-being of individuals. The quality and affordability of housing is often seen as crucial for measuring living standards and social inclusion/exclusion. Being able to afford housing of adequate/decent quality in a safe environment is a basic need, as a dwelling should provide shelter, adequate space for its occupants to live, eat and sleep, as well as a degree of privacy for the household as a whole and for its individual members.

In November 2020, an action plan on integration and inclusion 2021–2027 (COM(2016) 377 final) was adopted with the purpose of fostering social cohesion and building inclusive societies for all. Inclusion for all is about ensuring that all policies are accessible to and work for everyone, including migrants and EU citizens with migrant background. This plan includes actions in four sectoral areas (education and training, employment and skills, health and housing) as well as actions supporting effective integration and inclusion in all sectoral areas at the EU, EU country and regional level, with a specific attention paid to young people.

More information on the policies and legislation in force in this area can be found in an introductory article on migrant integration statistics.