More cars than computers in EU households

Publication date: 29 May 2009

In 2007, 80% of the EU population lived in a household that possessed a car, 9% in a household that could not afford one and 11% in a household that had other reasons not to possess a car. The figures differ slightly for computers: 68% of the population lived in a household that possessed a computer, 9% in a household that could not afford one and 23% in a household that had other reasons not to possess a computer.

These are the main findings of data, published on 28 May by Eurostat, from the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey1. The survey also shows that a significant percentage of households are facing financial difficulties. In 2007, one third of the EU population lived in a household that could not afford an unexpected expenditure, corresponding in each member state to a set share of the national ‘at risk of poverty’ threshold.

Seven percent of the population lived in a household that had been unable to pay as scheduled utility bills for their main dwelling in the last 12 months and 3% in a household that had been unable to pay either rent or mortgage payment. The highest shares of the population living in households that had been in arrears with utility bills were found in Hungary (18%), Poland (17%), Greece (16%) and Slovenia (11%).

The highest shares of the population living in households that had been in arrears with either rent or mortgage were found in Greece (7%), France and Cyprus (both 6%).

(1) Eurostat - Living conditions in the EU27 (142.2 KB)

Source: Europolitics