A Eurostat study has shown that Malta is one of the countries with the lowest percentage of overcrowded households within the European Union.

Malta was surpassed only by Ireland and Cyprus.

The statistics show that within the European Union in 2019, 17.2% of all the population in Europe were living in overcrowded households. This means that, in comparison with the size of the household, there weren’t enough rooms to accommodate the people living in the specific address.

Over recent years there has been an increase in overcrowding, mostly noticeably in countries which had already registered high percentages of overcrowded homes.

In Malta on the other hand, it was reported that 7 in 10 people live in under-occupied dwellings. This 72.6% puts the Maltese population in the same percentile of Cyprus, 70.5% and Ireland, 69.6% whose population are currently living in under occupied dwellings.

The recent pandemic has highlighted the dangers which overcrowded households pose. Due to a majority of the population working from home, apart from the obvious risk of contracting the virus much faster, parents teleworking in the same room as children playing poses a mental health risk to everyone involved.