In the EU, nearly one in six households meet the definition of ‘overcrowded’

On average, EU citizens live in conditions nearly six times as cramped as in the UK

Montage © Facts4EU.Org 2026

No wonder the British were subsidising so many EU countries for nearly 50 years

Most readers know about the inequality of minimum wages across the European Union. On many occasions while the United Kingdom was a Member of the EU, Brexit Facts4EU drew readers attention to the latest EU Commission data, showing that the infamous EU principle of the ‘Level Playing Field’ which came up repeatedly during the Brexit negotiations to leave the bloc were little more than a fantasy.

Until now, however, we did not see any new data about the packed living conditions endured by so many families. Today for the first time we are able to bring this state of affairs to the attention of readers. Facts4EU has analysed the data collected by the EU about what they refer to as ‘overcrowding’.

Firstly, what is ‘overcrowding'

The overcrowding rate is defined as the percentage of the population living in an overcrowded household. A person is considered as living in an overcrowded household if the household does not have at its disposal a minimum number of rooms equal to certain criteria.

For example, a household is considered to be overcrowded if two couples have to share the same bedroom, and we would certainly agree with this.

One more important aspect to note is that areas of communal living, e.g. student halls of residence, are not included in the data, as might be expected.

Which EU countries suffer from the most overcrowding?

Below we show one of our classic, Brexit Facts4EU.Org, ‘at-a-glance’ charts to illustrate best which countries suffer the most overcrowding. All EU data is based on 2024 and the UK data is based on 2023.

The EU countries with the most overcrowded households on average

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The difference in the UK by ethnicity

At first sight, one of the most surprising statistics is that the EU average percentage of households defined as ‘overcrowded’ is 16.9% whereas in the UK this average is just 3.1%. The reason for this is that only three EU countries have averages below 5% and only nine countries can claim a figure under 10%.

In the case of ‘White British’ households the UK average is significantly lower, standing at 1.7%. We are able to reveal this because in recent years more ‘social’ data from the Office for National Statistics has been broken down by ethnicity. The EU still does not provide this.

Observations

Some readers may not regard this information as particularly important. We have published it for two reasons. Firstly we worked very long hours all weekend on Part II of this Thursday’s “2026 – The year you will be lied to on an epic scale, so we start with the truth” - (please don't miss it!) - and the sheer volume of data we had to analyse made us want to work on something much simpler.

Secondly, today’s report once again shows up just how very different the 27 EU countries really are. The idea that these can all be merged into one superstate does seem rather optimistic. Then on top of this, the EU is planning to take on board a further 5-6 countries whose GDP is even lower than the poorest the EU already has on its books. That will certainly be another interesting experiment. This makes it all the more essential the UK does not rejoin, as Sir Keir Starmer seems determined to do, regardless of any facts.

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[ Sources: ONS | EU Commission | Eurostat 2024 ] Politicians and journalists can contact us for details, as ever.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org, Mon 05 Jan 2026

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Reader Comments 10

1. knies , Monday, January 05, 2026, 08:56:

Start with ads on your site and seek corporate donors. Align your organisation with an instution or a group of institutions.

2. Mr Sceptic , Monday, January 05, 2026, 10:56:

There must be several white-supremacist, christian nationalist, pro-gun, anti-abortion organisations in the USA who don’t mind donating towards Facts4EU?

3. NH , Monday, January 05, 2026, 11:14:

The EU could be about to become even more crowded as the ECHR is about to decide if polygamy is a human right. The case has been taken to the ECHR by a Muslim in the Netherlands. He was granted asylum which allowed him to bring his wife and 8 children to the Netherlands using the reunification rules. However this was not enough he also wants to reunify his other 3 wives and all their children to the Netherlands.
.
The ECHR is not being asked to rule on polygamy directly which is illegal. Left wing lawyers have shown him how to get around this by taking two separate cases to the ECHR. Obviously Sceptic would support this case and Kier will definitely follow the EU as he believes he has unlimited funds to provide child benefit and housing for all of them.

4. knies , Monday, January 05, 2026, 19:40:

Thank God that the UK is outside the EU.

5. Mr Sceptic , Monday, January 05, 2026, 20:33:

3 NH I don’t share your assumption that the asylum seeker in Holland will win his case at the ECHR.
And if the Brexiteer’s hero Trump invades Greenland, it will make a mockery of the sovereignty that the Brexiteers have been championing all along.

6. Gazzablack , Monday, January 05, 2026, 20:38:

2, septic
.
You sound like the baby that has been thrown out of the pram by his toys.
.

7. Annmarie , Monday, January 05, 2026, 21:05:

I believe that Septic tank and Sparkless are the very one and the same troll!

8. Gazzablack , Monday, January 05, 2026, 23:36:

The OBR confirms one of the great benefits of Brexit - our new trade deals with India, USA, Australia etc. - are worth more than the trumped up benefits of 'getting closer to EU again' under Starmer's costly and unnecessary reset.
.
.
Cambodia has joined the now long list of countries wishing to join the CPTPP trade bloc, alongside the UK.

9. Jason Berry , Tuesday, January 06, 2026, 13:57:

Mr Sceptic. I'm afraid that the comments that you make are entirely why this site, GBNews and Talk exist. And thank goodness they do. I can SEE what is happening to this country. I could SEE what the EU feferal state was, and still is, doing to my country. Answer some basic questions for me. (1) when did the UK vote to enter the EU federal state ? (2) Where does the opposition sit in the European Parliament ? (3) How many of the EU decision makers could UK voters vote in or out ? Do you know ? Answers. (1) we didn't. We voted in 1975 to remain in a trading state. We were never asked if we wanted to be in a federal state because the establishment knew that if they asked us, assuming they told the truth about what it actually meant (which was never gong to happen anyway !) we would vote no. (2) There isn't an official opposition. You are either pro EU or they try their hardest to close you down or simply ignore you (3) None. That's right. None. We voted for EU Parliament MEPs who are rubber stampers. We didn't have any say which failed european politicans and technocrats ran the EU, nor in what political direction, nor the opening of our borders to 400 million people, nor what additional sovereign powers these unelected people stole from YOU, the voter, So a supranational goverment with no electoral accountability, extending its powers without any electoral accountability, which costs you, the elector, just to enable us to continueTRADING. Revolutions have literally been fought for less. I guess you don't even know those basic facts but you CAN make smart Alec comments so that's fine. Happy New Year.

10. Diane , Wednesday, January 07, 2026, 12:18:

An interesting report in my opinion. Glad that Facts4eu also mention the subject of future EU enlargement, states in the queue to join the club as this is hardly ever raised, critiqued or the detail and what it actually entails considered by those wishing to take us back in. Of the six ( I believe included in the list being North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo ) some accessions are probably still a long way off but not all of them. The EU, not least, needs money. It estimates figures and you can believe them if you wish but nobody really knows and how much is already being doled out in pre-accession funding.

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