Over 34 Million EU Residents Spend More Than 40 Percent of Their Income on Housing: In Macedonia That Burden Falls on 5.6 Percent of the Population

Home prices in the European Union rose by an average of 69 percent between 2015 and the second quarter of 2026. Rent and energy climbed with them, and incomes much more modestly. The result is in Eurostat's data: more than 34 million people in the Union live in households that spend over 40 percent of their disposable income on housing.

That is 7.7 percent of the Union's population. Behind the average stand very different countries. Greece is by far the worst at 26.4 percent, followed by Denmark at 14.7, Germany at 11.2 and Sweden at 10.8. Outside the Union, Switzerland is at 15.3, Norway at 13.5 and Turkey at 10 percent. Serbia is at 7.9, above the EU average.

Greece, the neighbour we know from our summer holidays

The Greek figure turns terrifying once you look at the poorest. Among people at risk of poverty, the EU average is 29.1 percent. In Greece it is 82.6 percent, more than four in five. The country we see every summer as a holiday is, for many of its own citizens, a bill they can't pay.

In absolute numbers Germany has the most such people, 9.4 million, followed by Turkey with 8.6 million, then France, Spain and Italy. The costs include rent or mortgage interest, water, electricity, gas and heating, insurance, maintenance and taxes. The mortgage principal isn't counted, so the real burden of the monthly instalment is even higher.

Macedonia and a figure that's easy to misread

According to Eurostat's 2024 data, Macedonia is at 5.6 percent, below the EU average. Before anyone concludes that housing here is a solved problem, researchers warn that comparing countries is complicated: the differences depend on how many people rent on the private market, how strong social protection is and what incomes look like. The figure measures what share of income goes on housing, not where people live or how.

Experts expect rising energy prices to be the main driver of housing costs next year. The European Council is already talking openly about a housing crisis. When Europe gives the crisis a name, will anyone here measure it properly, or will we settle for being below average?