Official European data is hiding a massive "heat crisis" in places like Finland, where 15% of families can't afford to stay warm.
SSRN · March 18, 2026 · 6429611
The Takeaway
Nordic welfare states are often assumed to have solved basic needs, but standard EU measurements fail to account for the extreme heating costs of sub-arctic climates. This reveals a significant population of 'energy-poor' households in wealthy nations that are invisible to current policy metrics.
From the abstract
A Nordic geographical location and electricity price volatility are obvious risk factors for energy poverty among impoverished households. Still, governmental policies have not specifically targeted its causes and consequences. In this article, we bring a lacking Nordic perspective on expenditure-based energy poverty measurement. We utilise the Household Budget Survey database for Finland, which we complement with relevant national housing, energy cost and building datasets and modelled hidden h