Malta had third least overcrowded homes in EU in 2020

Malta had the third least overcrowded homes in 2020, recent Eurostat data shows. 

The statistics show that in that particular year, only 4.2% of Maltese homes were considered to be overcrowded, far below the European average.

These statistics indicate that in 2020, 17.5% of citizens in European member states were living in overcrowded households. Overcrowding meant that the number of people living under the same roof did not have enough space or room to cater for the ages and situation of its residents, the Eurostat statement said.

The most overcrowded member state in 2020 was Romania at 45.1% of the whole population, followed by Latvia (42.5%), Bulgaria (39.5%), Poland (36.9%) and Croatia (36.2%).

At the lowest end of the overcrowded households list recorded in 2020 there is Cyprus at 2.5%, followed by Ireland (3.2%), Malta (4.2%) and the Netherlands (4.8%). 

From the studies carried out it resulted that for most households, the largest expenditure for families in the EU had to do with housing costs.

The statistics also show that 2.8% of Maltese families spend more than 40% of their income on running the household. In the EU, the average is 7.8%.

Malta is one of 13 member states for which this housing overburden cost was below 5%.

The least recorded housing cost overburden was recorded in Cyprus, at 1.9%, followed by Lithuania (2.7%), Malta (2.8%) and Slovakia (3.2%).

The highest housing cost overburden was recorded in Greece, at 33.3%, followed at a distance by Bulgaria at 14.4% and Denmark at 14.1%.