Two-Thirds of Spaniards Live in Apartments/Flats

Spain is where you will find the most people living in flats in all of Europe, and the lowest percentage of people living in houses, according to the latest report by Eurostat.

Andalucían town of Casares.

The figures are on European housing and they show that two thirds of the Spanish population currently reside in flats, while in other European countries such as Britain, Croatia and Norway, over 80% of people live in houses.

Flats are also popular in Latvia, where 65% of the population can be found in flats, Lithuania (58%) and Greece (57%).

Unlike other European flat-dwellers however, most Spaniards do actually buy property in Costa del Sol and own their own homes. 80% of Spaniards own their homes while only 20% rent property in Costa del Sol and Spain. They just prefer to own flats rather than houses.

Overall six out of ten Europeans live in houses, so just why do Spaniards prefer to live in flats? The answer is the urbanistaion of Spain.

Francisco Franco ruled Spain between 1939 and 1975 and during his rule many large apartment blocks were built. Many Spaniards left the countryside and moved to cities in Spain crawling with these buildings for the chance at a better life.

Spaniards will also spend more time enjoying the good weather outside than Northern Europeans. They have less need for large houses. While the notion of Spaniards living on top of each other in apartment blocks suggests otherwise, Spain is one of the least overcrowded countries in Europe. The Spanish are also very pleased with the way they live, giving their living conditions an average rating of 7.3 out of 10.