These figures were released by Eurostat, the European statistics office. It indicates that the population at risk of social exclusion or poverty is less likely to live in homes that have improved energy efficiency (only 17.8%), compared to 27.5% of the group that does not face these risks.

Looking at people most at risk of poverty and exclusion, Estonia, the Netherlands and Lithuania were the countries that reported the highest rates of energy efficiency — 47.8%, 45.1% and 32.5%, respectively. At the other extreme are Cyprus (5%), Malta (6.7%) and Italy (6.9%).

Portugal manages to be above the European average in terms of improvements in energy efficiency that occurred in the five years up to 2023, reaching almost 30% of homes where this evolution occurred, but it still ranks 13th among the 27 countries that are part of the bloc.