The quality of housing can be measured in many ways, as shown in a Eurostat report. One way is whether people live in overcrowded homes.

In the EU, in 2022, 16.8% of the population lived in such housing, a percentage that has decreased from 19.1% in 2010.

In 2022, the highest overcrowding rates were observed in Latvia (41.7%), Romania (40.5%), and Bulgaria (36.2%), while the lowest were in Cyprus (2.2%), Malta (2.8%), and the Netherlands (2.9%).

The opposite of an overcrowded home is an underoccupied one, meaning it is considered too large for the household living in it.

The classic cause of underoccupation is older individuals or couples who remain in their homes after their children have grown up and left.

In the EU, in 2022, one-third of the population (33.6%) lived in an underoccupied home, a percentage that has remained relatively stable since 2010.

In 2022, the highest rates of underoccupied homes were recorded in Malta (72.3%), Cyprus (70.9%), and Ireland (67.3%), while the lowest were in Romania (7.3%), Latvia (9.4%), and Greece (11.3%).