40% of Bulgarians can not Keep Their Homes Warm

39.2% of Bulgarians could not keep their homes warm, according to a Eurostat survey for 2016. By this indicator, the country is in the worst position in the EU because the largest share of its population fails to secure its heating in the cold months of the year. For comparison, on average, 8.7% of citizens in the EU can not afford normal heating. After a peak of 11% in 2012, the proportion of these people has steadily declined in recent years, according to the European Statistical Office. However, it is clear from the Eurostat historical data that Bulgaria has made significant progress on this indicator over the last 10 years. If 39% of Bulgarians could not maintain their homes in 2016, their share in 2006 was 69.5%. This means that in a decade the people in Bulgaria with a similar problem have fallen by almost 50%. Among countries where a large percentage of people can not afford the necessary heating are also Lithuania (29%), Greece (29%), Cyprus (24%) and Portugal (22%). At the same time, less than 2% of residents in Finland and Luxembourg can not keep their homes warm.