Across the EU, 12.2 per cent of the population reported that pollution, grime or environmental issues affected their household in 2023, a decrease from 15.1 per cent in 2019, Eurostat announced on Monday.

In Cyprus, 10.5 per cent of the population reported such problems, according to the data.

Malta had the highest share of population reporting such problems with 34.7 per cent, followed by Greece with 20.5 per cent and Germany 16.8 per cent.

By contrast, Croatia reported the lowest share with 4.2 per cent, ahead of Sweden with 5 per cent and Slovakia 5.8 per cent.

At an EU level, exposure to pollution, grime or other environmental problems increased with the degree of urbanisation.

While 6.8 per cent of people living in rural areas were affected, this share was 10.5 per cent in towns and suburbs and 17.2 per cent in cities.