Homelessness in Germany is a significant social issue, one that is estimated to affect around 678,000 people. [1] This figure includes about 372,000 people that are accommodated (in refugee shelters, etc.) by public services, e.g. by the municipalities. [2] Since 2014, there has been a 150% increase in the homeless population within the country. [3] Reportedly, around 22,000 of the homeless population are children. [1] [ citation needed ]
In addition, the country has yet to publish statistics on homelessness at a Federal Level [4] despite it being an ongoing and widespread matter.
In 1933, the Nazi Party passed a Law "against Habitual and Dangerous Criminals", which allowed for the relocation of beggars, homeless, and the unemployed to concentration camps. [5]
In 1942, British bombing raids destroyed a total of 3.6 million homes, with 7.5 million Germans left homeless. [6]
The homeless levels have risen more than 4% between 2017–2018. [1] In addition, according to BAGW's report, refugees are more likely to be homeless. [7] The number of homeless people with a refugee background increased by 5.9%. A majority of the homeless population is men (three in four). [7] There is a worrying increase in the amount of young homeless in some countries including Germany. [8]
The Federal Government acknowledges that homelessness in Germany is caused by multiple factors, "such as financial, domestic, and individual psychosocial reasons" and that it is not merely rooted in the lack of affordable accommodation. [4] According to Global Homelessness Statistics, "Around 50% of poor households spend more than 40% of their disposable income on housing". [8] The Berlin Homeless Shelter Association provides housing to the homeless population in Berlin, Germany.
Research has been conducted to investigative proactive ways to prevent homelessness. People being evicted from their homes is one of the most common factors for homelessness. Some instruments used to stop the eviction process, include financial support, legal provision for cases of hardship, and assistance negotiations with landlords. [9] As stated by Dr. Busch-Geertsema, coordinator of the European Observatory on Homelessness, prevention is categorized in several ways: primary prevention (larger risk groups), secondary prevention (those being threatened with eviction), and tertiary prevention (persons who are already homeless). [9]
Demographic features of the population of Denmark proper, part of the Danish Realm, include ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects.
The demography of Germany is monitored by the Statistisches Bundesamt. According to the most recent data, Germany's population is 84,669,326 making it the most populous country in the European Union and the nineteenth-most populous country in the world. The total fertility rate was rated at 1.58 in 2021, significantly below the replacement rate of 2.1. For a long time Germany had one of the world's lowest fertility rates of around 1.3 to 1.4, however there has been a small increase in recent years. Due to the low birth rate Germany has recorded more deaths than births every year since 1972, which means 2021 was the 50th consecutive year the German population would have decreased without immigration. However, due to immigration the population has actually increased during the last half-century. In 2019 the number of people with a foreign background was 26%; this category includes foreigners, naturalized citizens, ethnic German repatriates from Eastern Europe and the children of all of the above.
The demography of Sweden is monitored by the Statistiska centralbyrån. Sweden's population was 10,555,448, making it the 15th-most populous country in Europe after Czech Republic, the 10th-most populous member state of the European Union, and the 87th-most populous country in the world. The total fertility rate was rated at 1.66 in 2020, which is far below the replacement rate of 2.1.
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there were one billion slum residents and squatters globally. Squatting occurs worldwide and tends to occur when people find empty buildings or land to occupy for housing. It has a long history, broken down by country below.
Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. In some jurisdictions it may also involve the removal of persons from premises that were foreclosed by a mortgagee.
In the United States, the number of homeless people on a given night in January 2023 was more than 650,000 according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Homelessness has increased in recent years, in large part due to an increasingly severe housing shortage and rising home prices in the United States.
Romani people, or Roma, are the fourth largest ethnic group in Serbia, numbering 131,936 (1.98%) according to the 2022 census. However, due to a legacy of poor birth registration and some other factors, this official number is likely underestimated. Anywhere between 46,000 to 97,000 Roma are internally displaced from Kosovo after 1999.
Massachusetts has an estimated population of 6.981 million as of 2022 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This represents a −0.7% decrease in population from the 2020 census, when the population was 7.029 million. Currently, Massachusetts is the sixteenth most populous U.S. state.
British Afghans are British citizens and non-citizen residents born in or with ancestors from, Afghanistan, part of worldwide Afghan diaspora. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates that there were 79,000 people born in Afghanistan living in the UK in 2019.
Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, living in boarding houses with no security of tenure, and people who leave their homes because of civil conflict and are refugees within their country.
The right to housing is the economic, social and cultural right to adequate housing and shelter. It is recognized in some national constitutions and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to housing is regarded as a freestanding right in the International human rights law which was clearly in the 1991 General Comment on Adequate Housing by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The aspect of the right to housing under ICESCR include: availability of services, infrastructure, material and facilities; legal security of tenure; habitability; accessibility; affordability; location and cultural adequacy.
Homelessness is a major issue in India. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defines 'homeless' as those who do not live in a regular residence. The United Nations Economic and Social Council Statement has a broader definition for homelessness; it defines homelessness as follows: ‘When we are talking about housing, we are not just talking about four walls and a roof. The right to adequate housing is about security of tenure, affordability, access to services and cultural adequacy. It is about protection from forced eviction and displacement, fighting homelessness, poverty and exclusion. India defines 'homeless' as those who do not live in Census houses, but rather stay on pavements, roadsides, railway platforms, staircases, temples, streets, in pipes, or other open spaces. There are 1.77 million homeless people in India, or 0.15% of the country's total population, according to the 2011 census consisting of single men, women, mothers, the elderly, and the disabled. However, it is argued that the numbers are far greater than accounted by the point in time method. For example, while the Census of 2011 counted 46,724 homeless individuals in Delhi, the Indo-Global Social Service Society counted them to be 88,410, and another organization called the Delhi Development Authority counted them to be 150,000. Furthermore, there is a high proportion of mentally ill and street children in the homeless population. There are 18 million street children in India, the largest number of any country in the world, with 11 million being urban. Finally, more than three million men and women are homeless in India's capital city of New Delhi; the same population in Canada would make up approximately 30 electoral districts. A family of four members has an average of five homeless generations in India.
Syrians in Sweden are citizens and residents of Sweden who are of Syrian descent. As of 2019, there were 191,530 residents of Sweden born in Syria, and 50,620 born in Sweden with at least one Syrian-born parent. Sweden hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees outside of Middle East, aside of Germany.
Homelessness in New Zealand has been linked to the general issue of lack of suitable housing. The homeless population is generally measured through the country's census and by universities and other academic centres. In 2018, it was estimated that 3,624 people in New Zealand were living without shelter, 7,929 were in temporary accommodation, 30,171 were sharing accodation, and 60,399 were living in uninhabitable buildings. Homelessness in New Zealand has traditionally been reduced by the provision of state housing, similar to Germany and other developed countries.
Homelessness in Denmark is considered a significant social issue in the country. Since 2007, comprehensive counts have been performed every other year in week six. The latest, from 2017, counted 6,635 homeless people in Denmark. The total number of people experiencing homelessness at some point in 2017 was estimated at 13,000, while earlier estimates have placed it between 10,000 and 15,000. Roughly half the homeless are in the Capital Region. When compared to many other countries, such as the United States, the rate of Denmark's homeless is significantly lower, which has been linked to the relatively comprehensive welfare system.
Family homelessness refers to a family unit who do not have access to long term accommodation due to various circumstances such as socioeconomic status, access to resources and relationship breakdowns. In some Western countries, such as the United States, family homelessness is a new form of poverty, and a fast growing group of the homelessness population. Some American researchers argue that family homelessness is the inevitable result of imbalanced “low-income housing ratio” where there are more low-income households than there are low-cost housing units. A study in 2018 projected a total of 56,342 family households were recognized as homeless. Roughly 16,390 of these people were living in a place not meant for human habitation. It is believed that homeless families make up about a third of the United States’ population, with generally women being the lead of the household.
Homelessness in China is a social issue. In 2011, there were approximately 2.41 million homeless adults and 179,000 homeless children living in the country. However, owing to government policies and housing schemes, China has managed, to some extent, to tackle the problem.
Homelessness in Sweden affects c. 28,000 people.
Housing in the United States comes in a variety of forms and tenures. The rate of homeownership in the United States, as measured by the fraction of units that are owner-occupied, was 64% as of 2017. This rate is less than the rates in other large countries such as China (90%), Russia (89%) Mexico (80%), or Brazil (73%).
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