What is the population of Europeans that cannot afford to adequately heat their homes in winter?
An average of 8.7% of the people in Europe do not have heating at home. In 2016, Bulgaria recorded the highest number of homes without heating, while Switzerland had the lowest number of homes without heat in Europe.
Most of Europe faces cold winters, and the situation in Bulgaria is the poorest where 39.2 of the population lives without any heating in the home in 2016. In 2010, 66.5% of the homes in Bulgaria went without any heating. Between 2011 and 2013, there was some improvement, with approximately 20% increase in homes with heat. Between 2013 and 2016, there was again some improvement but not significantly, given that winters in Bulgaria results in temperatures dropping to sub-zero levels.
The percentage in Lithuania and Greece are almost similar. In 2016, 29.3% Lithuanians remained without heating as did 29.1% of Greeks. The percentage may look similar, but weather conditions in winters are vastly different in both countries. Being located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, Greece experiences much more milder winters than Lithuania.
Greece has witnessed a worsening of the situation since 2010. That year, more homes had heating than in 2016. In 2010, 15.4% of the population did not have access to heating, but in 2016, the number almost doubled to 29.1%, reflecting the economic crisis the country faced between 2010 and 2016. Fortunately for the people of Greece, the relatively mild winters did not pose a major challenge.
In 2010, 25.2% of the population in Lithuania lived without any heating. The number increased to 36.2% the following year, which means, more homes went without electricity in 2011 than in 2010. Between 2012 and 2014, the situation had improved slightly before falling sharply once again in 2015. That year, 31.1% of the population had to face cold winter before seeing a slight improvement in 2016, when the percentage dropped marginally to 29.3%.
In Cyprus, 24.3% of the population, and Portugal 22.5% remained without heated homes in 2016, but the winters are not as cold as in Northern Europe since both countries are located close to the same latitude that experiences relatively moderate winters.
Data before 2013 is not available for Serbia, however, in 2013, 18.3% homes were without heating. The situation had improved, in 2016 the number dropped to 13.3% of homes remained without heating.
Latvia, on the Baltic Coast, faces harsh winters. In 2010, 19.1% of homes remained without heating, and, by 2016, the situation had improved with 10.6% homes remained without heating.
Croatia shares a border with Hungary and the situation there is marginally better than in neighboring Hungary. In 2010, 8.3% of homes stayed without heating, and six years later, there was a marginal improvement with 9.3% homes remaining without heating.
In Hungary, the situation hasn’t improved over the six years between 2010 and 2016. In 2010, 10.7% homes were without heating, but in 2012, the situation worsened with 15% homes going without heating before beginning to improve from 2014 onwards. In 2016, 9.2% homes were without heating. Hungary faces sub-zero temperatures in winters.
Poland, located on Southern Baltic Sea coast, has seen significant improvement in home heating between 2010 and 2016. At the beginning of the decade, 14.8% of homes went without heating. The situation improved by close to 50% by 2016, with 7.1% homes remaining without heating.
Malta, a country located south of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea, faces less of a challenge as winters are mild. The home heating situation, however, improved significantly between 2010 and 2016, the percentage dropping from 14.3% to 6.8% during that period.
The United Kingdom has been facing harsh winters similar to most countries in northern Europe. But around 6% of the population remains without home heating. The situation has remained at the same level between 2010 and 2016. In neighboring Ireland, the situation is similar, with 5.8% homes remaining without heating in 2016.
In countries like Slovakia, France, Slovenia, and Belgium, around 5% of homes remain without heating. These countries have not recorded major improvement over the years – 2010-1016.
In parts of former West Germany and the Czechia (Czech Republic), around 3.7% homes remain without heating. Both countries face cold winters, and the situation has marginally improved since 2010.
Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Netherlands, and Sweden, all have around 2.7% of the population that still go without home heating. In Denmark, the situation has deteriorated from 1.9% homes without heating in 2010 to 2.7% in 2016.
Finland and Luxembourg have both witnessed rise in the number of homes remaining without heating from 2010 to 2016. The decade began with 1.4% homes in 2010 without heating, and the number had climbed to 1.7% in 2016. Similarly, Luxembourg recorded 0.5% homes without heating in 2010 but rose to 1.7% in 2016.
Switzerland and Norway are the only two countries in Europe where the percentage of homes without heating is below 1%. The former has recorded the best improvement in home heating. In 2010, 7.3% homes remained without heating; this dropped to 0.6% in 2016.
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