A global housing crisis currently affects 3.4 billion people worldwide, according to a report from the Institute of Global Homelessness [1].
The findings highlight the scale of residential instability across diverse economic systems, suggesting that lack of affordable and secure housing is a systemic issue regardless of a nation's wealth.
The report provides specific data on homelessness rates measured per 10,000 people of the population. In India, the rate is 13 per 10,000 [1]. This figure is lower than those recorded in other major global economies analyzed in the study.
China reported a homelessness rate of 21 per 10,000 [1]. The U.S. followed closely with a rate of 20 per 10,000 [1]. These statistics indicate that despite different political structures, both the U.S. and China face similar levels of extreme housing instability.
The Institute of Global Homelessness produced the report to quantify the reach of the crisis and provide a baseline for comparing how major economies manage housing for their most vulnerable citizens. By establishing these ratios, the organization aims to bring international attention to the gap between population growth and available secure housing.
“3.4 billion people worldwide are affected by the housing crisis”
The data suggests that the housing crisis is not confined to developing economies, as the U.S. and China show higher per capita homelessness rates than India. This indicates that economic output does not automatically translate to housing security, pointing toward a global failure in urban planning and affordable housing policy.
