1 in 6 european homes are overcrowded

One in six Europeans is forced to live in an overcrowded home, ranging from one percent of the population in Cyprus to 58 percent in Latvia, according to the EU's statistics agency, Eurostat.

The report, published on Wednesday (23 February) and based on 2009 data, also shows a considerable variation between member states regarding problems of damp, darkness or the availability of sanitary equipment in European homes.

Many Europeans also said they suffered from a leaking roof (Photo: psyberartist) * Print * Comment article "Housing deprivation is one of the most extreme examples of poverty and social exclusion in society today," declares the document. "Although access to affordable accommodation is a fundamental need and right, guaranteeing this right still represents a significant challenge in several member states."

Eurostat defines a person as living in an overcrowded home if the building does not contain one room per individual. One room per couple or two same-sex children is also considered acceptable.

At the lower end of the scale in 2009 were Cyprus with one percent of the population living in overcrowded dwellings, two percent in the Netherlands, three percent in Spain and four percent in Ireland, Belgium and Malta. At the other end, 58 percent of Latvian citizens were estimated to suffer from overcrowded homes, 55 percent in Romania and Hungary, 49 percent in Poland and Lithuania and 47 percent in Bulgaria, all former Communist countries which joined the EU in 2004 or later.

Source: EU Observer