More than 20% of the population cannot afford to keep their homes warm

More than 20% of the Portuguese population admitted they do not have money to heat their home in winter in 2023, almost double the European average.

According to data from the Living Conditions and Income Survey, released by the National Statistics Institute (INE) this Friday, 20.8% of the population reported not having the financial capacity to keep their home adequately heatedequivalent to more than two million people.

In summer the situation gets worse: 38% of the population cannot keep their home cool also due to lack of money, almost double the European average. Portugal is, in fact, one of the five countries in the European Union in which this incapacity was among the highest.

More people living in overcrowded homes

INE also reveals that almost 13% of the population lived in overcrowded conditionsthat is, without enough space for the household, 3.5% more than in 2022.

The increase occurred across the country, but the increase is more significant in Lisbon and Porto. In the capital, the municipality has already received numerous complaints of overcrowding. The problem gained national visibility after the fire in Mouraria, where last year two people died and 14 were injured in a house where 24 people lived.

Last year, the overcrowding rate was more significant for the population at risk of poverty – almost 28% – and higher among the youngest groups (21.8% for the age group up to 17 years old), decreasing with age (13 .9% for adults and 4.4% for the elderly).

Furthermore, 6% of residents lived in severe housing deprivation2.1 percentage points more than in 2020 (3.9%).

If we consider only the problems related to sanitary facilities and the quality of the basic physical structures of the accommodation (ceiling, walls, floor, windows), it was observed that 33% of the population lived, in 2023, with deprivation in at least one of the items considered.

What improved were the costs of housing expenses: the median burden on these expenses decreased last year compared to 2022 (9.7%, compared to 10.2% recorded in the previous year).

The overload rate of housing expenses was 4.9%slightly below the value in the previous year (5%).