Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
In the last year "2021", building permits (in terms of useful floor area, measured in millions of square metres) increased by 15% in the EU (in absolute terms, +52 million square metres). This growth followed an 8% decline in 2020, the peak year of the COVID-19 crisis.
Building permits are also measured by the number of dwellings, regardless of the size of the building. In terms of the number of dwellings, permits rose by 16% (+269,000 dwellings) in the EU after a 5% decline in 2020.
Between 2015 and 2019, the number of permits increased by an average of 6% per year. The COVID-19 pandemic has halted these developments, but with the increase in 2021, the losses of 2020 have been offset.
And in 2021, building permits increased (in terms of useful floor area) in all EU countries except Estonia (-5%).
However, there were significant differences in the increases across member states. Spain (+62%), Greece (+54%) and Malta (+42%) recorded the highest increases in the number of permits issued in terms of useful floor area.
On the other hand, fairly low increases were recorded in Denmark (+1%), Germany (+2%) and Austria (+3%).