Overcrowded homes plague half of Turkey's young population

While rent prices in Turkey are rising dramatically, another aspect of the accommodation problem is the insufficient number of rooms. Half of Turkey’s young population aged 15-29 live in "overcrowded houses," compared to 26 percent in the EU.

Tuesday June 27 2023 07:14 pm

Duvar English

In Turkey, 51 percent of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 live in overcrowded homes, compared to 26 percent in the European Union (EU).

Looking at the total population, four out of 10 people in Turkey live in overcrowded homes while this rate is only 17 percent in the EU, according to online news outlet Euronews. Turkey ranks 7th among 35 countries with 2021 data.

The map is taken from the Eurostat data on "Living conditions in Europe - housing."

Turkey's record-high housing and rental prices have led to a shortage of affordable housing and accommodation. Despite high inflation, the government's decision to limit rent increases to 25 percent has resulted in skyrocketing rents for new homes. In the last quarter of 2022, real house prices in Turkey increased by 51 percent annually.

Consequently, particularly students have resorted to living in shared flats where the number of occupants per room exceeds the household norm.

The Statistical Office of the EU (Eurostat) categorizes the overcrowded households as they did not have enough rooms for the number of people in the household, their family situation and their ages. For instance, if there is less than one room per couple in the household or if there is no room for people over 18, the households are considered overcrowded.