EU countries by people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills

Greece had the highest people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills of 26 EU countries in 2018, at 43%. Czechia had the lowest, at 3%. The median was 9.3% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 8.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest43Greece

Lowest3Czechia

Median9.326 EU countries

European Union (27)8.9History

Map of EU countries, 2018

Under 6
6 to 8.1
8.1 to 10
10 to 14
14 and over
No data

%, 2018. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: Eurostat, Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2018

%. Source: Eurostat, Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2018 (%)	Change on 2017
1	Greece	43	-1.9 pts
2	Bulgaria	31.9	-1.4 pts
3	Cyprus	21.6	-3.2 pts
4	Croatia	18.6	-3.3 pts
5	Romania	16.5	-0.8 pts
6	Latvia	13.8	-0.2 pts
7	Slovenia	13.6	-1.6 pts
8	Hungary	12.8	-2.9 pts
9	Ireland	11.2	-1.8 pts
10	Finland	10.7	-0.1 pts
11	Lithuania	10.3	+1.6 pts
12	Slovakia	9.9	+2.5 pts
13	Spain	9.4	+0.1 pts
14	France	9.1	0 pts
15	Denmark	8.7	+2.7 pts
16	Malta	8.1	+1.6 pts
17	Estonia	8	+0.7 pts
18	Poland	7.7	-2.6 pts
19	Portugal	6.6	-1.1 pts
20	Belgium	6.1	+0.7 pts
21	Italy	6	-0.1 pts
22	Austria	4.9	-1 pts
23	Sweden	4.7	-0.4 pts
24	Germany	4.6	+0.2 pts
25	Netherlands	3.8	-0.8 pts
26	Czechia	3	-0.2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Share of the population living in households that were behind on paying a mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase instalments in the last 12 months because of financial difficulties (EU-SILC, all household types and incomes).

EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC). The reference year is the survey year. Self-reported by households; a share of people, not of households.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. 1 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2018 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes05/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05) (EU countries by people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills, 2018) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes05/default/table

MLA 9

Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05), EU countries by people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills, 2018. Eurostat, European Commission, 17 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes05/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/arrears-on-bills/eu-countries?period=2018. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05). EU countries by people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills, 2018. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes05/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/arrears-on-bills/eu-countries?period=2018.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05), EU countries by people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills, 2018 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes05/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/arrears-on-bills/eu-countries?period=2018 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_people_2018,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc\_mdes05): EU countries by people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills, 2018}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes05/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/arrears-on-bills/eu-countries?period=2018. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc\_mdes05). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc\_mdes05/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05): EU countries by people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills, 2018
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/17
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes05/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/arrears-on-bills/eu-countries?period=2018
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/arrears-on-bills/eu-countries?period=2018.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ilc_mdes05/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank EU countries by people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"arrears_on_bills_share","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=arrears_on_bills_share&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills?

Greece, with 43% in 2018, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest people in arrears on rent, mortgage or bills?

Czechia, with 3% in 2018.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Arrears on mortgage or rent, utility bills or hire purchase, total population, all household types and incomes (ilc_mdes05). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 EU countries have no value for 2018 and are not ranked.