Persons living in one- or two-dwelling buildings with tenant-owned or rented dwellings have an average living space of 41 sqm and 40 sqm, respectively.

In multi-dwelling buildings, there is slightly less space per person, 39 sqm for households in tenant-owned flats and 34 sqm for households in rented dwellings. Special housing, such as student housing and housing for the elderly, in which the average living space per person is 29 sqm, account for the smallest living spaces.

Smallest living space per person in cities

The living space per person varies among the different municipalities. Tingsryd and Ydre municipalities have the largest average living space per person, 54 sqm, followed by 53 sqm in Båstad, Emmaboda, Bräcke, and Åsele. Botkyrka, Stockholm, Sundbyberg, and Solna have the smallest living space per person, 33 sqm.

The disparities between municipalities are, in part, explained by differences in the dwelling stock. In many municipalities in metropolitan areas, a large percentage of households live in multi-dwelling buildings. Dwellings in multi-dwelling buildings are often smaller than in one- or two-dwelling buildings. More than 60 percent of households in Sundbyberg, Stockholm, Solna, and Göteborg live in dwellings that are 80 sqm or smaller. Ydre municipality has the lowest percentage of households in small flats, 23 percent, that is, households in dwellings that are smaller than 81 sqm. Emmaboda, Tingsryd, Åsele, and Båstad municipalities also have less than 30 percent of households living in small flats.