According to the number of blocked citizens due to unpaid bills, Croats are at the very top among the citizens of the European Union, but Greeks and Bulgarians have even more problems with unpaid debts, according to a survey by the European Statistical Office – Tportal reports.

In 2016, 10.4 percent of the population in the European Union (EU) had problems with paying housing loans, leases or other items such as utility bills. In other words, one out of ten people has unpaid bilss and payment backlogs.

The worst situation is in Greece, where almost half (47.9 percent) of citizens have accumulated debts for various types of bills. A critical situation is also in Bulgaria, where more than one third (34.2 percent) of the population struggles with personal finances.

Next are Cyprus and Croatia with more than a quarter of citizens in financial difficulties. According to Eurostat data, 26.4 percent of Croatian citizens are late with their payments. Unpaid bills in Croatia have led to mass deprivation and blockade of accounts.

According to the latest figures at Croatian Financial Agency FINA, at the end of March of 2018, 325,254 citizens were blocked, and total debt reached 43.37 billion kunas - Tportal writes.

In order to end this long-lasting problem, the government presented three legislative proposals at the end of April, which should significantly reduce the number of blocked citizens.

On the other end of the European scale are prosperous European countries where there is financial discipline. The lowest rate of people not paying bills, only 4.2 percent, is in Germany, and only a few more people with payment difficulties are in the Czech Republic (4.2 percent) and the Netherlands (5 percent).

When only unpaid housing (mortgage or rent) accounts are taken into consideration, the Greeks are still at the top (15.3 percent), but Croats are in a much more favorable position than with 1.3 percent of those who are late or not paying. However, the relatively low level of non-payment in this segment is associated with a high percentage of Croatian citizens living in their own houses or apartments.