The Maltese may take basic home facilities such as a toilet and a bathroom for granted but some people living in more advanced EU countries still live in dwellings without such basic comforts of life.

A Eurostat survey released yesterday showed that one per cent of dwellings in France, Germany, Luxembourg and the UK were still without a toilet, a bathroom or both.

In other countries the situation was worse: in Latvia and Lithuania, 20 per cent of houses were without a toilet and another 22 and 18 per cent respectively did not have a bathroom or a shower. According to the EU survey all dwellings in Malta had these basic facilities.

Eurostat said that, in 2007, the proportion of the population living in a dwelling with a leaking roof or damp walls ranged from five per cent in Malta and Finland to six per cent in Slovakia and Sweden, nine per cent in Austria, 38 per cent in Poland, 30 per cent in Cyprus, 26 per cent in Latvia and 25 per cent in Lithuania.

Malta ranked in second place among the 27 member states when it came to pollution perception. In fact, 35 per cent of Maltese respondents believed they were living in a polluted area and another 24 per cent complained of noise pollution.

In Latvia, 37 per cent said they lived in a polluted neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, 10 per cent of the Maltese complained about crime.

Eurostat said a household's perception of noise, pollution or crime in their neighbourhood differed significantly between member states although it specified these indicators measured the perception of such problems and not the actual levels.

In Cyprus, in 2007, 37 per cent of the population felt they lived in an area where they had problems with noise either from neighbours or from the street, followed by 32 per cent in The Netherlands, 28 per cent in Portugal and 27 per cent in Germany. The lowest percentages were found in Ireland and Sweden (both 13 per cent).

Pollution or other environmental problems in the local area were also deemed to be a major problem in both Estonia and Cyprus. The least to worry about such problems were the Swedes (seven per cent).

In Latvia, in 2007, 30 per cent of the population felt that crime, violence or vandalism in their local area was a problem for their household, followed by the UK (27 per cent). At the other end of the scale, seven per cent of the population in Lithuania and eight per cent in both Poland and Slovakia had this feeling.