More than 1.27 million people sleep on the streets or in shelters across Europe every night, while about 5% of the EU population has experienced some form of homelessness, an activist said on Thursday, marking World Homeless Day.

Ruth Owen, deputy director of the Federation of National Organizations Working with the Homeless in Europe, told Anadolu that homelessness has become a deeply rooted crisis, particularly in major cities.

She said the latest European data show at least 1.27 million people in Europe sleep rough or in shelters nightly, calling it a ?conservative estimate? that only captures visible homelessness.

Owen said the new statistics obtained at the European level broaden the scope of homelessness, adding: "We have some new statistics from the European level (on) whether they had experienced different forms of homelessness. As well as rough sleeping and staying in accommodation for homeless people, it would include things like staying with family and friends because you don't have anywhere else to go, and that comes to almost 5% of the EU population (who) have experienced some form of homelessness in their lifetime."

She added that homelessness has worsened in many European cities, citing Brussels as one of the starkest examples. "I think when the first time there was a count of the homeless population in Brussels was in 2008, and it was like 1,700 people. And now it's more like 10,000. One of them is definitely the cost of housing in the city," she said.

Over half million homeless in Germany

Germany has the largest homeless population in Europe, with around 530,000 people, Owen said, adding that the figure reflects both a comprehensive census and a broad definition of homelessness.

She contrasted this with the Greek Cypriot administration, which officially reports no homelessness, yet a closer look at the numbers suggests a different situation.

"When you look at this EU Silk questionnaire that I mentioned earlier, it's not called homelessness, but people are asked, 'have you ever had to sleep in a public place?' 'Have you ever had to stay with family and friends because you didn't have anywhere else to go?' And there, I think it's like 11% of the population have experienced that. So it's quite an interesting contrast."

Hundreds of thousands of homeless in France

In France, homelessness rose by 20,000 last year to reach 350,000, according to a 2025 report by the Foundation for the Homeless (formerly Abbe Pierre). The report cited stagnation in housing construction, soaring rents, and a lack of government action as key drivers.

It also said 2.7 million people are waiting for public housing in France, but only 393,000 were allocated such housing in 2023.

The report highlighted that no significant steps have been taken to date to solve the housing problem and emphasized that this problem could deepen as a result of the lack of political will caused by the continuing government crises.

The report said the number of homeless people jumped 130% over the 10-year period between 2002 and 2022, noting that the number of homeless people, which was recorded as 330,000 last year, has increased by 20,000 this year to reach 350,000.

?Housing First? as solution

As a solution to homelessness, Owen recommended increasing public housing initiatives and regulating the housing market.

"I think we need to make housing more affordable for people with very low incomes, including regulating the housing market, building public housing, and providing income support to households," she said.

She pointed to the ?Housing First? model?giving homeless individuals immediate access to stable housing?as one of Europe?s most effective approaches.

"There's an intervention called Housing First, which has been something of a revolution in the homeless sector. It's basically a very simple idea that if you're homeless, you may have other problems, but your primary problem is that you need a house and you should be supported to access a house as quickly as possible, where you would have a tenancy like anybody else," Owen explained.

?Finland is a real success story,? she said. ?It reduced its homeless population from about 20,000 to 3,000 over two decades.? (Anadolu Agency)

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