A survey conducted at the level of the European Union in 2020 concluded that 8.2% of the inhabitants of the European Union cannot afford to heat their homes sufficiently, a percentage increase compared to the level of 7% in 2018, according to data published on Thursday by Eurostat.

However, the increase in 2020 comes after several years of steadily declining share of those who say they cannot afford to heat their homes sufficiently, a share that peaked at 11% in 2012.

Among the Member States, the situation varies greatly, with 27% of residents in Bulgaria saying they cannot afford to heat their homes sufficiently, while in Austria, Finland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands only about 2% of respondents said the same thing, according to Agerpres.

In Romania, 10% of residents said they could not afford to heat their homes sufficiently, a lower percentage than in Italy (11.1%), Portugal and Greece (both by 17%) or Cyprus (21%).
Close to Romania is Germany, where 9% of residents said they could not afford to heat their homes enough.

As in the EU, in Romania the percentage of those who say they can not afford to heat their homes sufficiently increased in 2020 compared to 2018, but has fallen steadily in recent years, from 33.3% in 2007 to to 11.3% in 2017, to reach 9.6% in 2018.