In 2020, 15.7% of the population in Belgium lived in a dwelling with a leaking roof, damp walls, floors or foundations, or with rot in the window frames or the floor. To achieve the sustainable development goal by 2030, this figure must decrease. Between 2003 and 2020 (assessment of June 2021), the trend is unfavourable.
Inadequate dwelling - Belgium and international comparison
percentage of total population
| 2003 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020//2003 | 2020//2015 | 2019//2010 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 13.7 | 15.0 | 19.0 | 18.2 | 16.7 | 15.7 | 0.8 | -2.9 | -1.4 |
| EU27 | -- | -- | 16.3 | 15.3 | 12.6 | -- | -- | -- | -2.8 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | |||||||||
break in series: BE 2009, 2019; data collection BE 2020 disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic
Statistics Belgium; Eurostat (2021), European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), ilc_mdho01, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 21/06/2021).
Inadequate dwelling by region - Belgium
percentage of population
| 2008 | 2010 | 2014 | 2015 | 2018 | 2019 | 2019//2008 | 2019//2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brussels-Capital Region | 23.1 | 24.8 | 25.6 | 26.8 | 25.8 | 24.7 | 0.6 | -0.7 |
| Flemish Region | 14.9 | 16.8 | 14.4 | 14.3 | 14.3 | 13.4 | -1.0 | -1.4 |
| Walloon Region | 22.5 | 21.4 | 20.5 | 22.5 | 21.6 | 20.1 | -1.0 | -0.4 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||
The margin of uncertainty for this indicator is indicated in the text for the latest year. Break in series: 2009, 2019
Statistics Belgium (2021) Direct communication 30/10/2020; Eurostat (2020), European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), ilc_mdho01, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 21/06/2021).
Inadequate dwelling by sex - Belgium
percentage of population
| 2003 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020//2003 | 2020//2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| females | 14.4 | 15.4 | 19.2 | 18.2 | 17.3 | 16.0 | 0.6 | -2.5 |
| males | 12.9 | 14.6 | 18.7 | 18.2 | 16.1 | 15.3 | 1.0 | -3.4 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||
break in series: 2009, 2019; data collection 2020 disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic
Statistics Belgium; Eurostat (2021), European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), ilc_mdho01, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 21/06/2021).
Inadequate dwelling by age - Belgium
percentage of population
| 2003 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020//2003 | 2020//2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <18 | 15.4 | 18.4 | 23.0 | 22.0 | 18.8 | 18.3 | 1.0 | -3.6 |
| 18-64 | 13.9 | 14.7 | 19.0 | 18.6 | 17.5 | 16.1 | 0.9 | -2.8 |
| >64 | 10.4 | 11.5 | 13.6 | 12.4 | 11.8 | 11.2 | 0.4 | -2.0 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||
break in series: 2009, 2019; data collection 2020 disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic
Statistics Belgium; Eurostat (2021), European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), ilc_mdho01, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 21/06/2021).
Inadequate dwelling by household type - Belgium
percentage of population
| 2003 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020//2003 | 2020//2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| single person | 15.2 | 16.4 | 19.8 | 18.4 | 17.7 | 16.0 | 0.3 | -2.8 |
| single person with dependent children | 22.6 | 28.8 | 32.4 | 29.1 | 26.5 | 22.8 | 0.1 | -4.8 |
| two adults | 12.7 | 10.6 | 13.8 | 14.6 | 12.9 | 12.3 | -0.2 | -3.4 |
| two adults with one dependent child | 13.1 | 13.7 | 20.7 | 14.2 | 16.1 | 14.2 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
| two adults with two dependent children | 12.1 | 11.6 | 15.7 | 18.4 | 14.9 | 14.0 | 0.9 | -5.3 |
| two adults with three or more dependent children | 16.4 | 20.2 | 21.4 | 24.0 | 19.1 | 21.2 | 1.5 | -2.4 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||
break in series: 2009, 2019; data collection 2020 disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic
Statistics Belgium; Eurostat (2021), European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), ilc_mdho01, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 21/06/2021).
Inadequate dwelling by income - Belgium
percentage of population
| 2003 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2019 | 2020 | 2020//2003 | 2020//2015 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| below 60% of median equivalised income | 19.7 | 25.1 | 30.2 | 30.9 | 23.8 | 21.1 | 0.4 | -7.3 |
| above 60% of median equivalised income | 12.6 | 13.3 | 17.0 | 16.0 | 15.5 | 14.8 | 1.0 | -1.5 |
| //: Average Growth Rates | ||||||||
break in series: 2009, 2019; data collection 2020 disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic
Statistics Belgium; Eurostat (2021), European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), ilc_mdho01, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat (consulted on 21/06/2021).
Definition: the share of the population living in a dwelling with a leaking roof, damp walls, floors or foundations, or rot in the window frames or the floor. The data are based on the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey. Statistics Belgium organises this EU-harmonised survey in Belgium and makes the results available, in particular to Eurostat. The data used here come from Eurostat, which publishes detailed and comparable results between EU Member States. Since these data are based on a survey, a margin of uncertainty must be taken into account. The confidence intervals are available on request from Statistics Belgium.
Data for 2019 and 2020 are difficult to compare with each other and are not comparable with data up to 2018. From 2019 onwards, the survey methodology has been thoroughly reviewed for better accuracy. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted data collection. Detailed information on these questions is available on the Statistics Belgium website (Statbel, 2021).
Goal: the share of the population living in inadequate dwellings must decrease.
The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 11.1: “By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums”.
The Federal Long-Term Strategic Vision for Sustainable Development includes the following objective: “The preconditions for the well-being of citizens will be met, i.e. /[.../] decent housing” (introduction of the challenge A society promoting social cohesion; Belgian Official Gazette, 08/10/2013).
International comparison: in 2019, the share of the population living in inadequate dwellings is higher in Belgium (16.7%) than in the EU27 (12.6%). The difference between the EU27 and Belgium increases from 2.7 to 4.1 percentage points between 2010 and 2019. When Member States are divided into three groups, Belgium is part of the group with the poorest performance in 2019.
UN indicator: the selected indicator corresponds to indicator 11.1.1 - Proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing.
Sources
General
SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals: United Nations (2015), Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, document A/RES/70/1.
Indicators: United Nations (2017), Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, document A/RES/71/313.
UN Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ (consulted on 24/09/2020).
Specific
Belgian Official Gazette: http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/cgi/welcome.pl; research on http://www.ejustice.just.fgov.be/doc/rech/_f.htm (consulted on 24/09/2020).
At www.indicators.be the Federal Planning Bureau presents sustainable development indicators.
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