EU countries with the highest housing and maintenance costs
In 2019, housing, electricity, gas, water and other services cost the citizens of the European Union €1.7 trillion. This was the largest consumption expenditure accounting for 23.5% of the total amount.
According to Eurostat, other categories of expenditure were:
- transportation — 13.1%;
- food — 13%;
- recreation and culture, as well as restaurants and hotel services — 8.7% each.
In Finland, Slovakia and Denmark, the cost of housing maintenance was 27.9–28.8%. In the Czech Republic, France, Sweden and Ireland—about 25.4–26.4%. For Maltese, Lithuanians, Cypriots and Croats the housing cost less than for citizens of other EU countries (12.3–16.2%).
Over a 10-year period, from 2009 to 2019, the share of housing expenditure in the total costs for most EU countries either decreased or remained unchanged. Housing maintenance costs have fallen for citizens of Romania, Poland, Cyprus, Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia. And in 11 countries, among which Ireland, Finland, and the Netherlands are the leaders, the costs have increased.
