The characteristics of houses and households in Greece are usually presented from two main perspectives:
a) the structural/housing characteristics of dwellings, and
b) the social/demographic characteristics of households.
Based mainly on the Population-Housing Census of the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) and supplementary data from Eurostat, the main characteristics are the following:
1. Characteristics of houses / dwellings
In Greece, the following are usually examined:
Type of dwelling: main residence, secondary/holiday home, vacant dwelling.
Type of housing unit: apartment, detached house, semi-detached house, etc.
Dwelling surface area: square meters.
Number of rooms.
Year of construction / age of the building.
Building materials and condition of the building, where recorded in census data.
Basic amenities and infrastructure: water supply, sewerage, bathroom, heating, electricity.
Tenure status: owner-occupied, rented, rent-free accommodation.
Occupancy density: how many people live in relation to the size of the dwelling.
2. Characteristics of households
For households in Greece, the following are mainly examined:
Household size: how many people live together in the same dwelling.
Household composition: one-person household, couple without children, couple with children, single-parent household, large household, etc.
Relationship among members: nuclear family, related or unrelated members.
Age composition of household members.
Economic situation or social characteristics of the head of the household.
Housing conditions: overcrowding, adequacy of space, housing cost burden.
3. What the most recent data show for Greece
According to the final results of the 2021 Census:
Households in Greece increased by 4.8% compared to 2011, reaching approximately 4,332,447.
This increase in households took place while the total population declined, which is associated with smaller households and more cases of people living alone or in small family units.
In addition, Eurostat shows that Greece faces strong housing pressure:
in 2024, Greece had the highest housing cost overburden rate in the EU, with 28.9% of the population spending more than 40% of their disposable income on housing.
