HOUSING : CONDITIONS VARY CONSIDERABLY ACROSS UNION.

• Position: Brief article

There are significant differences between the EU's 27 member states in the type of housing in which people live and in the housing problems they encounter, according to a report published by Eurostat, on 23 February(1).

In 2009, 42% of the population in the EU lived in an apartment, 34% in a detached house, and 23% in a semi-detached or terraced house. Detached houses are the most common type of dwelling in 12 member states, apartments in ten, and semi-detached or terraced houses in five. Apartments are most common in Latvia, detached houses in Slovenia, and terraced houses in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

The report shows that 18% of the population in the EU lives in an overcrowded dwelling, but the percentage varies widely from one member state to another; from 1% in Cyprus, 2% in the Netherlands, 3% in Spain and...