Malta and Cyprus Report Lowest Household Overcrowding in EU
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The share of people living in overcrowded households across the European Union stood at 16.9% in 2024, marking a modest improvement compared to 18.1% recorded a decade earlier, according to Eurostat data published on December 22.
Despite the overall decline, overcrowding remains unevenly distributed across the bloc. More than 30% of the population lived in overcrowded households in five EU member states. Romania recorded the highest rate at 40.7%, followed by Latvia at 39.3%, Bulgaria at 33.8%, Poland at 33.7%, and Croatia at 31.7%.
At the other end of the spectrum, Cyprus registered the lowest overcrowding rate in the EU at 2.4%. Malta followed with 4.4%, while the Netherlands recorded a comparable figure of 4.6%, placing all three well below the EU average.
Regional disparities are particularly evident in the Baltic states. Latvia’s overcrowding rate remains significantly higher than those of its neighbours, with Estonia recording 18.4% and Lithuania 26.3%. While Latvia continues to rank among the worst-affected countries, its figures show a gradual downward trend over time. Overcrowding stood at 43% in 2016, declined marginally to 42% in 2020, and fell further to 40% by 2023.
Eurostat defines overcrowding as a household that does not have a sufficient number of rooms relative to the household’s size and composition, making it a key indicator of housing conditions and living standards across the EU.
