Romanians have smallest dwelling space

© ANP
In comparison with other Europeans, Romanians have the most cramped housing conditions, with only one room available for each individual occupier in 2014. Dwellings in the Netherlands offer 1.9 rooms per person on average, a condition similar to the rest of western Europe.
While Romanians had to get by with one room per person, Croatians and Polish had 1.1. On the other hand, dwellings in western and northern Europe have around two rooms per person, with Belgium topping the list at 2.2 rooms. Rooms include bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms, while bathrooms, toilets and corridors are not included.

Housing too cramped under EU standards for half of all Romanians

According to Eurostat, 52 percent of all Romanians suffered from overcrowded living conditions in 2014. Eurostat’s calculation not only takes into account the number of rooms per person but also the composition of the household. Under the European standard, over 25 percent of the population in many other countries across eastern and southern Europe are living in houses that are in fact too small. This is the case for less than 10 percent of the population in western Europe; in the Netherlands, it applies to 3 percent.

More rooms per person in rural areas

Households living in rural areas generally have more spacious dwellings than those in the city. In the larger cities across the EU, the average size was 1.5 rooms per person in 2014, in rural areas 1.7. Norway, Malta and Cyprus were exceptions: city-dwellers had more living space than the rural population.

Rooms per person by degree of urbanisation, 2014/15
 Rural areasCities
Belgium*2.32.1
Ireland2.21.9
UK2.21.8
Denmark*2.11.8
Luxembourg2.11.9
Spain*21.9
Finland*21.7
Sweden21.6
Switzerland21.8
Germany1.91.7
France1.91.7
Cyprus1.92.1
Netherlands*1.91.9
Malta1.82.1
Portugal1.81.6
Iceland*1.81.5
Norway1.82.2
Estonia1.71.6
Austria*1.71.4
Lithuania1.61.3
Czech Rep.1.51.3
Italy1.51.3
Slovenia*1.51.6
Bulgaria*1.31.1
Greece1.31.2
Latvia*1.21.1
Hungary*1.21.2
Slovakia1.21.1
Croatia1.11.1
Poland11.1
Romania10.9

More rooms for Baltic, Hungarians and Slovenians

In most EU countries, the number of rooms per person has remained the same or increased slightly since 2010. The increase was strongest in Baltic Sea states, Hungary, Slovenia and in Portugal. There, the number of rooms per person increased in both urban and rural areas.

Sources