Data from the European Central Bank reveal significant generational disparities in access to homeownership and financial security. While those under 35 hold only a fraction of total wealth on average, older generations possess a disproportionately large share of assets.
According to the 2023 Survey on Household Income and Wealth, households headed by individuals under 35 hold just 2.8 per cent of total net wealth across the 22 European countries surveyed. The largest share of assets, at 24 per cent, belongs to households headed by those aged 55 to 64. Net wealth encompasses the value of real estate, cars, valuables and savings, minus total liabilities.
The median net wealth of households headed by those under 35 in the euro area, the Czech Republic and Hungary is approximately €25,000. For households aged 55 to 64, this amount reaches roughly €208,000, or 8.3 times more.
Croatia stands out in this regard. Households headed by those under 35 hold 12.3 per cent of total net wealth, which is more than four times the European average of 2.8 per cent. A similar pattern is seen in Lithuania, where young people hold 13.2 per cent of assets, Malta at 11.1 per cent, Slovakia at 10.1 per cent and Estonia at 9.8 per cent. At the opposite end are Finland, where those under 35 hold just 0.8 per cent of total household assets, Ireland at 1.4 per cent, Austria at 1.6 per cent, Greece at 1.8 per cent and Germany at two per cent. Those over 55 in Finland collectively hold more than 71 per cent of total household assets.
Rising cost of living, high property prices and difficult employment conditions are increasingly a source of dissatisfaction among young people across Europe. In recent months, student protests and demands for change have spread, with the issue of intergenerational wealth inequality increasingly at the centre of discontent. Protests began in France in September and have spread to more than 11 European countries. Young people are warning about high rents, rising fuel costs, reduced public spending, the growing difficulty of finding stable employment and limited opportunities for career advancement. Discontent is further deepened by distrust of institutions and corruption, as well as a sense that education, work and effort no longer guarantee a better future. An increasing number of young people believe they will not achieve the standard of living enjoyed by their parents.
One of the main reasons for the widening generational gap is the rise in property and rental prices. Evelyn Astor of the European Social Observatory told Al Jazeera that the sharp increase in property and rental prices further exacerbates the sense of inequality. Wealthier individuals, thanks to their available capital, have significantly greater opportunities to invest in the European property market.
Pressure on households has also been intensified by prices. According to Eurostat data, prices for food, energy, transport, utilities and other goods and services in the euro area have cumulatively risen by 67.2 per cent since 2000. In Croatia, prices rose by 98.8 per cent over the same period, nearly doubling. The largest increase among the countries surveyed was recorded in Hungary, where prices more than tripled. A particularly sharp rise in prices was recorded in Eastern European countries, especially after 2022 and the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, when energy costs surged. Until 2022, prices had been rising by an average of around two per cent annually, but inflation in the European Union then spiked to 9.2 per cent. Energy costs were the main driver of this increase. Inflation has since subsided.
