More than half of EU27 households live in houses
In the EU27 in 2007, 46% of households lived in flats, 30% in detached houses and 22% in semi-detached or terraced houses. The share of households living in flats was highest in Latvia (72%), Estonia (69%), Spain (66%) and Germany (62%). The percentage of households living in detached houses was largest in Slovenia (65%), Hungary (57%), Romania (56%) and Denmark (48%), while for semi-detached or terraced houses, the share was highest in the United Kingdom (59%), Ireland and the Netherlands (both 55%).
Almost two thirds of households in the EU27 own their dwelling
In 2007, 65% of households in the EU27 owned their dwelling, 21% paid rent at market rate, 8% paid rent at a reduced rate and 7% of households occupied free accommodation. More than half of households owned their dwelling in all Member States (except in Germany) with the highest proportions in Romania (96%), Lithuania and Slovakia (both 89%) and Hungary (87%). The lowest percentages of households owing their dwelling were observed in Germany (46%), Austria (52%), the Netherlands (56%) and Denmark, France and Poland (all 58%).
Natural gas account for 40% of energy consumption of households in the EU27
Household energy consumption consists of energy delivered to households for space heating, sanitary water heating, cooking and electrical appliances. Fuel for personal transport is not included. In the EU27 in 2007, households consumed 285 million tonnes of oil equivalent (toe) of energy. Of this energy, 40% came from natural gas, 24% from electrical energy, 15% from petroleum products, 12% from renewable energy, 7% from district heating and 3% from solid fuels.
The highest shares of consumption of natural gas were found in the Netherlands (72%), the United Kingdom (67%), Italy and Hungary (both 57%). For electrical energy, the largest proportions were observed in Malta (70%), Sweden (51%) and Cyprus (46%). Greece (50%) had the highest share of consumption of petroleum products, followed by Ireland (39%) and Cyprus (36%).
The strongest shares of renewable energy consumed by households were found in Latvia (50%), Estonia (39%) and Portugal (37%). For district heating, the highest proportions were found in Estonia (38%), Sweden and Lithuania (both 37%), while for solid fuels the largest shares were observed in Poland (29%) and Ireland (16%).
Percentage of consumers complaining highest in Northern Europe
In 2008, 16% of consumers aged 15 years and over in the EU27 had made a formal complaint in the last 12 months to a seller or a provider. The largest shares of consumers complaining were found in Sweden (34%), the Netherlands (25%), Germany and the United Kingdom (both 24%), Finland (23%) and Denmark (22%) and the lowest in Bulgaria (4%), Latvia and Portugal (both 5%), Lithuania and Romania (both 6%).
In the EU27, just over half (51%) of those having made a complaint were satisfied with the way their complaint had been dealt with. The highest levels of satisfaction were found in Slovakia (80%), Slovenia (73%), the Czech Republic and Austria (both 68%) and lowest in France (30%), Spain, Latvia and Hungary (all 39%).
Highest share of cross-border shopping in Luxembourg, Sweden and Denmark
In 2008, a quarter of the EU27 population aged 15 years and over made a cross-border purchase in another Member State. The highest shares of persons making cross-border purchases in another Member State were observed in Luxembourg (68%), Sweden (59%), Denmark (56%), Austria (53%) and Finland (51%), and the lowest in Bulgaria and Portugal (both 9%), Greece (10%), Italy and Romania (both 13%).
In the EU27 in 2008, 17% of the population made cross-border purchases while on holiday or business trips, 9% made specific trips for shopping, 7% purchased over the internet and 2% made mail orders. A third of the EU27 population were prepared to use another EU language when purchasing goods and services in another country.
