Cyprus recorded the lowest rate of housing overcrowding in the European Union during 2024, according to Eurostat, highlighting the country’s comparatively favourable living conditions within the bloc.

The figures showed that 16.9 per cent of people across the European Union lived in overcrowded households in 2024, marking a slight decline from 18.1 per cent in 2014.

Overcrowding is used by Eurostat as an indicator of housing quality and social conditions, as it reflects whether households have sufficient living space relative to their size and composition.

According to the data, more than 30 per cent of people lived in overcrowded households in five EU member states, underlining persistent disparities between countries.

Romania recorded the highest overcrowding rate at 40.7 per cent, followed by Latvia at 39.3 per cent, Bulgaria at 33.8 per cent, Poland at 33.7 per cent and Croatia at 31.7 per cent.

At the opposite end of the scale, Cyprus posted the lowest overcrowding rate in the EU at just 2.4 per cent, setting it apart from all other member states.

Low overcrowding levels were also recorded in Malta, where the rate stood at 4.4 per cent, and in the Netherlands, which reported a figure of 4.6 per cent.