Living conditions in Europe - housing
Data extracted: December 2023.
Planned article update: January 2025.
Highlights
16.8 % of the EU population lived in overcrowded households in 2022.
In 2022, the share of EU population unable to keep their homes adequately warm increased from 6.9 % (2021) to 9.3 %.
In 2022, 8.7 % of the EU population spent 40 % or more of their household disposable income on housing.
This article explores the housing landscape within the European Union (EU) in 2022 focusing on various aspects of households' living conditions. The analysis covers the distribution of the population based on tenure status, overcrowding rate, the ability to keep the home adequately warm and the prevalence of housing cost overburden.
All figures are based on EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC) available from Eurostat's online database. EU-SILC data are available for all EU Member States, as well as for most of the EFTA and candidate countries.
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Key findings
Overall, 16.8 % of persons in the EU lived in an overcrowded household in 2022. Considerable differences were observed between EU Member States; Latvia reported the highest percentage with 41.7 %, while Cyprus had the lowest at 2.2 %.
In 2022, 9.3 % of the EU population were unable to keep their home adequately warm. Among the EU Member States, the highest percentages were recorded in Greece (18.7 %), Cyprus (19.2 %) and Bulgaria (22.5 %).
In 2022, the housing cost overburden rate amounted to 8.7 % for the EU population, with shares of 10 % and above in the Netherlands (10.0 %), Germany (11.8 %), Denmark (14.7 %), Bulgaria (15.1 %), Luxembourg (15.2 %) with a peak of 26.7 % recorded in Greece.
Housing conditions
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, nearly 7 out of 10 persons owned the dwelling they lived in
In 2022, 69.1 % of the EU population lived in owner-occupied dwellings, while 30.9 % resided in rented accommodation (see Figure 1). Among owners, 44.4 % owned their dwellings outright, free from a mortgage or housing loan, whereas 24.7 % were owners with a mortgage or loan. Regarding tenants, 20.2 % of the EU population paid market rent, and 10.7 % lived in dwellings with rent at a reduced price or for free.
Source: Eurostat (ilc_lvho02)
Highest shares of people living in overcrowded households observed in Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria and Poland
In 2022, 16.8 % of the EU population lived in an overcrowded household. Map 1 shows that an overcrowding rate higher than 40 % was recorded in Romania (40.5 %) and Latvia (41.7 %). By contrast, overcrowding rates lower than 5.0 % were recorded in Ireland (4.3 %), the Netherlands (2.9 %), Malta (2.8 %) and Cyprus (2.2 %).
Higher shares of EU population unable to keep the house warm compared with 2021
The ability to keep a home adequately warm depends on several factors, including the general condition of the building, the outside temperature and the cost of energy.
In 2022, 9.3 % of the EU population could not afford to keep their home adequately warm (see Figure 2). Among the EU Member States, this ranged from 1.4 % in Finland, 2.1 % in Luxembourg and 2.6 % in Slovenia to 18.7 % in Greece, 19.2 % in Cyprus and 22.5 % in Bulgaria.
Source: Eurostat (ilc_mdes01)
Compared with 2021, the share of the EU population unable to keep their homes adequately warm rose by 2.4 percentage points (pp), increasing from 6.9 % to 9.3 % in 2022, as shown in Figure 2. The largest increases were observed in Romania (5.1 pp), France (4.7 pp, with a break in series in 2022) and Ireland (4.0 pp). On the other side, decreases were observed in Lithuania (5.0 pp), Bulgaria (1.2 pp) and Hungary (0.7 pp), Luxembourg (0.4 pp, also with a break in series in 2022), and both Cyprus and Malta by 0.2 pp each.
Housing affordability
Housing costs often make up the largest component of expenditure for many households. Increases in housing costs can potentially lead to other expenditure being deferred or cancelled.
Housing cost overburden rate above 10 % in 6 Member States
In 2022, 8.7 % of the EU population spent 40 % or more of their household disposable income on housing. This share varied considerably across the EU Member States (see Map 2). Greece recorded the highest rate of housing cost overburden at 26.7 %. Other countries reporting rates exceeding 10.0 % included the Netherlands (10.0 %), Germany (11.8 %), Denmark (14.7 %), Bulgaria (15.1 %), and Luxembourg (15.2 %). Conversely, Member States with housing cost overburden rates below 4 % were Slovakia and Cyprus, both at 2.5 %, followed by Malta (2.9 %), Lithuania (3.5 %), Croatia (3.8 %), and Ireland (3.9 %).
Such variability across countries may be due to different regional housing price levels, national policies for social housing or public subsidies and benefits provided by governments for housing.
Source data for tables and graphs
Data sources
The data used in this article are derived from EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). EU-SILC is carried out annually and is the main survey that measures 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 Member State at the time of data collection; persons living in in institutions are generally excluded from the target population. The data for the EU are population-weighted averages of national data.
The overcrowding rate is determined by the percentage of the population residing in a dwelling with an insufficient number of rooms, based on household size, family composition, and the ages of its occupants. The housing cost overburden rate measures housing affordability as the percentage of the population living in households where the total housing costs ('net' of housing allowances) represent more than 40 % of disposable income ('net' of housing allowances). Housing costs refer to the monthly expenditures connected with a household's occupancy of their accommodation. These costs include utilities (water, electricity, gas, heating) based on actual usage. Only costs that are actually paid are considered, regardless of the payer. For owners, housing costs encompass mortgage interest payments (net of tax relief), structural insurance, mandatory services and charges (like sewage and refuse removal), regular maintenance and repairs, taxes, and utilities. Tenants (both at market and reduced prices) have similar housing costs, including rental payments, structural insurance (if paid by tenants), services and charges (if paid by tenants), taxes on dwelling (if applicable), regular maintenance and repairs, and utilities. Rent-free tenants incur housing costs potentially covering structural insurance, services and charges, dwelling taxes (if applicable), regular maintenance and repairs, and utilities. In all cases, housing benefits are not deducted from the total housing cost.
Context
In the context of material living standards and well-being, housing is a fundamental topic. Indeed, many people would agree that 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.
Housing costs refer to the monthly expenses associated with the right to live in a dwelling. This includes the cost of utilities such as water, electricity, gas, and heating. Only the housing costs that are paid are considered, regardless of who covers them. This includes expenses such as structural insurance, mandatory services and charges (e.g., sewage and refuse removal), regular maintenance and repairs, taxes, and the cost of utilities (water, electricity, gas, and heating). For homeowners, the housing cost calculation includes mortgage interest payments net of any tax relief, and gross of housing benefits (i.e., housing benefits should not be subtracted from the total housing cost). For tenants, the calculation includes rental payments gross of housing benefits (i.e., housing benefits should not be subtracted from the total housing cost).
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