Portugal has the 2nd worst living conditions in properties in the EU

In 2020, 25.2% of the population lived in houses with roofs leaking water or with rotten floors and window frames.

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9 September 2022, 15:47

Portugal is the 2nd country in the European Union (EU) with the highest percentage of people living in houses in poor conditions, such as roofs leaking water, damp walls or with rotten floors and window frames, according to data released by Pordata. In 2020, a quarter of the population (25.2%) lived in this type of accommodation. We have the details.

Portugal is above the European average, which in 2020 was around 14.8%. Pordata data shows that the percentage of people living in houses in poor condition in the country has increased 4.9% in the last 16 years - in 2004, this figure was 20.4%.

The first place in the European ranking is occupied by Cyprus, where 39.1% of the population lives in dwellings in poor conditions. In third position, behind Portugal, is Slovenia (20.8%), followed by Hungary (20.4%), and Spain (19.7%).

The countries where people live better are Finland - where only 4.5% of the population lived in houses in bad conditions -, Slovakia (4.9%), Poland (6%), Malta (6.1%), and the Czech Republic (6.8%).

Over one million people in Portugal lived in overcrowded houses in 2021

The percentage of people living in overcrowded conditions in recent years has also increased. A recent study by the National Statistics Institute (INE), indicated that in 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, 10.6% of people lived in conditions of insufficient housing space in Portugal, this being the highest value of the last three years: 9.6% in 2018, 9.5% in 2019 and 9.0% in 202

According to INE, living in overcrowded accommodation was, in 2021, a condition that mainly affected families at risk of poverty (18.8%) and families living in densely populated areas (13.2%).