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Energy poverty in Germany: Millions cannot heat their homes!
In October 2025, Germany reported 5.3 million people who cannot heat sufficiently. The causes and solutions in focus.
Energy poverty in Germany: Millions cannot heat their homes!
In Germany, many citizens struggle with the costs of heating their homes. According to the WZ, last year 5.3 million people in Germany did not have enough money to adequately heat their homes. This represents 6.3 percent of the population, down from 8.2 percent in 2023, but pressure on budgets remains high. Germany is therefore below the EU average of 9.2 percent, although in countries such as Greece and Bulgaria the proportions are significantly higher, namely 19.0 percent in each case.
The situation remains tense, especially considering that energy prices have risen 50.3 percent since 2020—a significantly faster increase than general consumer prices, which rose 19.3 percent. On the positive side, consumers had to pay slightly less for energy in September this year: household energy was 1.9 percent cheaper compared to the previous year, according to information from WZ.
Health effects and social consequences
According to an analysis by CORRECTIV.Europe based on Eurostat data from 2024, the financial inability to heat the home adequately can pose serious health risks. A cold home increases the risk of mental illness, cardiovascular problems and chronic respiratory infections. In Germany, around 5.2 million people had difficulty providing sufficient heat in 2024, which is a decrease compared to the previous year but an increase since 2021.
It is noteworthy that Bremen is at the top with a share of 12.2 percent of unheated households, followed by Saarland (11.1 percent) and Arnsberg (9.6 percent). For many people, the question is becoming more and more pressing: How do you pay heating costs while ensuring that the refrigerator stays full? These challenges mean aid organizations are reporting an increase in requests from people in financial difficulty.
Energy poverty in the EU
The problem of energy poverty does not only affect Germany. According to EU-wide surveys, a total of around 47 million people in the EU, Switzerland and Norway were unable to heat their homes adequately last winter - that corresponds to around 10.2 percent of the population. The causes are often unrenovated buildings, high energy costs and low income. European energy prices have almost doubled since 2020, driven by the fallout from the pandemic and the Ukraine conflict. Real wages in the EU have also fallen by 1.1 percent since 2019, exacerbating the situation.
According to the analyses, single parents, chronically ill people and people in the low-wage sector are particularly affected. From 2027, an EU-wide CO2 price for heating and refueling will also be introduced, which could further increase heating costs. In Austria, citizens benefit from CO2 income through the climate bonus, which is socially graded and represents a contrast to the challenges in Germany.
An affected woman, who went by the name Andrea, describes her extreme cost-cutting measures and the constant worry about rising heating costs. She and her partner plan to move to a warmer home to improve the quality of life for themselves and their son. These personal stories highlight the need to seriously tackle building renovation as a key measure in the fight against energy poverty, as the EU also emphasizes. For more information on this topic, readers can visit the comprehensive datasets Eurostat or learn more about the general situation surrounding energy poverty Voxeurop experience.