Greece and Cyprus have amongst the highest home ownership rates in the European Union, according to data published yesterday by the statistical agency Eurostat.
As a percentage of population, Greeks and Cypriots record 75.4% and 67.9% homeownership rates respectively.
With the majority of the EU population living in houses, they are most common in two thirds of the Member States. The highest shares for flats were observed in Latvia (66%), Spain (65%), Estonia (61%) and Greece (59%).
Living in a house or a flat also differs among the Member States, and also varies depending on whether you live in a city or the countryside. In the EU in 2019, 53% of the population lived in a house, while 46 % lived in a flat (1 % lived in other accommodation, such as houseboats, vans etc.). Ireland (92 %) recorded the highest share of the population living in a house, followed by Croatia and Belgium (both 78 %) and the Netherlands (75 %). It should be noted that this includes terraced houses.
In cities, 72% of the EU population lived in a flat and 28% in a house. For towns and suburbs, the proportions were 58% and 42% respectively, while for rural areas, 82% of the population lived in a house and only 18% in a flat.
Being an owner or a tenant of your home is something that differs significantly among the Member States. In the EU in 2019, 70% of the population lived in a household owning their home, while the remaining 30% lived in rented housing. The highest shares of ownership were observed in Romania (96% of the population owned their home), Hungary (92%) and Slovakia (91%).
In all Member States, owning is most common. However, in Germany, renting is almost equal with 49% of the population being tenants. Austria (45%) and Denmark (39%) follow.
