Still, a number of countries had a higher share of households late on utility bills. In Greece, some 35.6% of households were unable to pay their bills on time. In Bulgaria, the rate stood at 30.1%, while in Croatia 17.5% of households faced the same problem.

On the other hand, few households had difficulties in paying on time in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Sweden, and Austria (all had a share below 2.5%).

Eurostat says that the share of households unable to pay utility bills on time has fallen steadily in the EU as a whole, from more than 10% in 2013.

Below 14% of households in member states consisting of a single adult with dependent children faced such difficulties in 2018, compared to less than 3% of households consisting of two adults (with at least one of them 65 years or older). Among households with two or three adults and dependent children, the share was around 11%.

MTI Photo: Kovács Attila / Eurostat