The quality of housing can be measured in many ways. One way is whether people live in overcrowded homes. In the EU in 2021, 17.1% of the population lived in such housing, a percentage that had decreased from 19.1% in 2010, as shown in the latest analysis by Eurostat.

In 2021, the highest rates of overcrowding were observed in Latvia (41.3%), Romania (41.0%), and Bulgaria (37.9%), while the lowest rates were in Cyprus (2.3%) and Malta (2.9%). 34% live in underoccupied housing.

The opposite of overcrowded housing is underoccupied housing, meaning it is considered too large for the household living in it. From this perspective, 34% of Europeans live in underoccupied housing.

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 2021, one-third of the population (33.6%) lived in underoccupied housing, a percentage that has remained fairly stable since 2010.

In 2021, the highest rates of underoccupied housing were recorded in Malta (71.8%), Cyprus (70.9%), and Ireland (69.1%), while the lowest rates were in Romania (7.2%), Latvia (10.1%), and Greece (11.8%).

Not only does the number of people living in a home affect their quality of life, but also the quality of the housing itself, such as the ability to keep the home warm, the lack of toilets and showers, and a leaking roof.

In the EU in 2021, 6.9% of the population did not have the ability to keep their homes sufficiently warm. The highest percentages were observed in Bulgaria (23.7%), Lithuania (22.5%), Cyprus (19.4%), and Greece (17.5%), while the lowest percentages were in Finland (1.3%), Slovenia, Sweden, and Austria (all 1.7%).

On average, in 2020, in the EU, 1.5% of the population did not have a toilet, shower, and bathtub. This was most common in Romania (21.2% of the population), followed by Bulgaria and Latvia (both 7.0%), as well as Lithuania (6.4%).

Regarding a leaking roof, 14.8% of the EU population had such an issue in 2020. The highest proportions were observed in Cyprus (39.1%), Portugal (25.2%), and Slovenia (20.8%).