How does the rise in homelessness compare across Europe?

Homelessness is increasingly becoming one of Europe’s biggest issues, as close to one million people are homeless every night in the EU and the UK, according to the latest data.

People living on the streets in many of the continent’s capitals and cities, even in places where this was not historically an issue are not uncommon, European Federation of National Organisations Working with the Homeless (FEANTSA) research shows.

“It is likely that the real number of homeless people is much higher,” FEANTSA warned, highlighting its data is limited to the most visible forms of homelessness.

The homelessness spike is particularly notable in France and the UK, with the two countries having the highest rate of homelessness across Europe.  

No internationally agreed definition of homelessness exists, and statistical definitions vary widely across countries. Data collection is also difficult, making international comparisons challenging. 

According to the OECD report for last year, England has the highest rate of people experiencing homelessness — which includes people who are living on the streets or staying in emergency accommodation or accommodation for the homeless — with 43 homeless people per 10,000 residents.

In the EU, France has the highest rate of homelessness per 10,000 people, at 30.7, followed by Czechia (28.4), Germany (25.8), and Ireland (25.3).

This rate is slightly over 10 in Portugal, whereas the neighbouring Spain fares somewhat better (5.4). The Nordic countries also reported comparatively lower rates of homelessness.

All these are point-in-time counts, presenting a “snapshot” of homelessness at a single time and place. However, homelessness is usually a fluid and evolving situation, depending on individual circumstances.

That’s why, in contrast, flow counts collect data over a given period, such as the number of people who have stayed in a shelter over the course of a year, painting a somewhat different picture.

In the flow category, Latvia reported almost 32 homeless people per 10,000 in 2023.

In Austria, this homelessness rate came out to 21.7 per 10,000, reaching 16.8 in Slovenia and 16.3 in Italy. 

In France and England, homelessness doubled in little over a decade

The total number of homeless individuals increases when the remaining three categories are included, consisting of people living in “institutions, non-conventional dwellings, and temporary housing with family and friends”.

The joint data across all categories shows that the total number of homeless people in the UK, France, and Germany alone exceeds one million.

According to the OECD report, the total estimated number of homeless people is about 333,000 in France and 263,000 in Germany.

ADVERTISEMENT

UK housing and homeless charity Shelter estimated that there are 309,000 homeless people in England. When Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland are included, this number rises to around 400,000 in the UK.

Over time, France and England have demonstrated almost the worst performance in addressing homelessness. According to the OECD dataset, the number of homeless people or households more than doubled between 2010 and 2023 in these countries.

In England, the number of homeless households rose from 52,168 in 2010 to 109,658 in 2023. In France, the number of homeless people increased from 141,500 in 2010 to 333,000 in 2023. This figure more than tripled in Slovakia.

Over the last 13 years, the rate of people experiencing homelessness as a percentage of the total population in England has almost doubled, reaching 0.46%. Ireland has also shown a dramatic rise since 2016, with its homelessness rate nearly doubling.

ADVERTISEMENT

What is happening and why?

“The housing market, combined with policy choices, and an unfavourable economic context, probably go a long way towards explaining England’s acute homelessness crisis,” Ruth Owen, FEANTSA’s Deputy Director, told Euronews. 

“Lack of affordable housing is a critical factor. Inadequate benefits, including the repeated freezing of housing benefits, is another,” she added. 

Owen emphasises that councils are increasingly forced to rely on temporary accommodation to manage homelessness while the central government focuses its efforts on ending rough sleeping. “(While this) is an important goal, it cannot provide a solution to the skyrocketing numbers in temporary accommodation,” she explains.

Owen also points out that the private rental sector in England is insecure by European standards.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ireland and the Netherlands have also seen significant increases in homelessness in recent years, Owen noted.

As to why people become homeless, FEANTSA explains: “There are multiple pathways into homelessness. A complex interplay of structural, institutional, relationship and personal factors often contribute to someone becoming homeless.”