This indicator tells us about the housing conditions and noise disturbance in the neighbourhood where the dwelling is located. These conditions are an important aspect of quality of life and may indicate a risk of social exclusion.
From an integration perspective, a decrease in the percentage of people facing at least one significant issue linked to housing and in the share of people living in a neighbourhood that is too noisy indicates an improved situation.
The population with a migration background is more likely to face one or more aspects of housing deprivation than the population without such a background. Similarly, the percentage of people living in a neighbourhood considered too noisy is significantly higher among people with a migration background.
Since 2014, the share of people facing housing deprivation and of those living in a neighbourhood considered too noisy has remained stable in all the population groups studied.
The population with a migration background is significantly more likely to face housing deprivation than the population without such a background in the Lake Geneva region, the Espace Mittelland and Eastern Switzerland. In Zurich, the population with a migration background is more likely to live in housing located in a neighbourhood that is considered too noisy.
The indicator uses two criteria to analyse housing conditions:
1) Share of persons facing at least one of the following four major housing problems:
• damp housing (leaking roof; damp walls, floors or foundations; rotten window frames or floors),
• too dark,
• no shower or bath,
• no private indoor flushing toilet.
2) Share of persons living in a noisy neighbourhood.
A single member of the household is asked these questions and the answers are imputed to all household members. For households comprised of several adults with a different migration status, the same value is entered for persons with a migration background and for those without.
From 2020, the information needed to construct this indicator is collected every 3 years.
Following changes to the survey framework and improvements in the weighting model, results from 2014 onwards can no longer be directly compared with those from previous years (series break). See the document below for further details.
