It is estimated that 140 million people are homeless worldwide. Habitat for Humanity estimated in 2024 that 1.53 billion people around the world live in "inadequate shelter".
Nigeria and India are the two countries with the largest homeless populations. Nigeria ranks 1st with 25 million homeless people and India takes 2nd place with 18 million homeless people as of 2024.
Country | Homeless (average day) | Data year | Homeless per 10,000 | Main article, other notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 800,000 | 2024 | 87.6 | |
Albania | 32,000 | 2024 | 113 | |
Argentina | 9,940 | 2024 | 2.0 | |
Australia | 122,494 | 2024 | 48.0 | Homelessness in Australia |
Austria | 19,912 | 2024 | 22.3 | |
Azerbaijan | 57,830 | 2024 | 50.7 | |
Bangladesh | 5,600,000 | 2024 | 307 | |
Belgium | 13,524 | 2024 | 11.7 | |
Benin | 100,000 | 2024 | 106 | |
Bhutan | 0 (claim) | 2024 | 0 | |
Brazil | 281,000 | 2024 | 13.1 | Only about 2,000 out of 5,570 municipalities in Brazil count the number of homeless people. |
Burkina Faso | 700,000 | 2024 | 335 | |
Cambodia | 3,000 | 2024 | 1.8 | |
Cameroon | 200,000 | 2024 | 75.5 | |
Canada | 235,000 | 2014 | 62.5 | Homelessness in Canada |
Central African Republic | 28,000 | 2024 | 53.8 | |
Chile | 14,013 | 2024 | 7.0 | |
China | 1,000,000 | 2024 | 19.2 | Homelessness in China |
Colombia | 662,146 | 2024 | 130 | |
Costa Rica | 3,387 | 2024 | 7.0 | |
Croatia | 2,000 | 2024 | 4.9 | |
Czech Republic | 23,830 | 2024 | 22.0 | |
Denmark | 5,789 | 2024 | 9.8 | Homelessness in Denmark |
Dominican Republic | 296,591 | 2024 | 270 | |
DR Congo | 1,500,000 | 2024 | 172 | |
Egypt | 2,700,000 | 2024 | 186 | Homelessness in Egypt |
Estonia | 1,068 | 2024 | 8.0 | |
Ethiopia | 600,000 | 2024 | 47.4 | The figure consists of children and teenagers only. |
Finland | 4,114 | 2024 | 7.9 | Homelessness in Finland |
France | 330,000 | 2024 | 48.7 | Homelessness in France |
Germany | 262,600 | 2024 | 31.4 | Homelessness in Germany |
Ghana | 100,000 | 2024 | 32.9 | |
Greece | 40,000 | 2024 | 37.1 | Homelessness in Greece |
Grenada | 68 | 2024 | 6.4 | Homeless in national census seems to mean unsheltered. High variance after hurricanes. |
Guatemala | 475,000 | 2024 | 315 | |
Haiti | 310,000 | 2024 | 261 | |
Honduras | 150,000 | 2024 | 148 | |
Hungary | 6,944 | 2024 | 7.2 | Homelessness in Hungary |
Iceland | 349 | 2024 | 10.0 | |
India | 18,000,000 | 2024 | 126 | Homelessness in India |
Indonesia | 122,000 | 2024 | 4.5 | Homelessness in Indonesia |
Iran | 130,000 | 2024 | 14.8 | |
Iraq | 600,000 | 2024 | 544 | |
Ireland | 13,540 | 2024 | 16.0 | Homelessness in Ireland |
Israel | 3,471 | 2024 | 4.0 | Homelessness in Israel |
Italy | 96,197 | 2024 | 8.4 | |
Japan | 2,820 | 2024 | 0.2 | Homelessness in Japan [1] |
Jordan | 0 | 2024 | 0 | |
Kazakhstan | 5,500 | 2024 | 0.6 | |
Kenya | 20,095 | 2024 | 3.9 | |
Latvia | 5,644 | 2024 | 35.3 | |
Libya | 40,000 | 2024 | 58.1 | |
Liechtenstein | 0 | 2024 | 0 | |
Lithuania | 4,009 | 2024 | 14.1 | |
Luxembourg | 420 | 2024 | 37.5 | |
Mali | 260,000 | 2024 | 157 | |
Malta | 236 | 2024 | 4.6 | |
Mexico | 14,000,000 | 2024 | 1,111 | |
Morocco | 380,000 | 2024 | 100 | |
Mozambique | 640,000 | 2024 | 189 | |
Myanmar | 1,500,000 | 2024 | 275 | |
Nepal | 2,500,000 | 2024 | 809 | |
Netherlands | 32,000 | 2024 | 18.0 | Homelessness in the Netherlands |
New Zealand | 102,123 | 2024 | 217 | Homelessness in New Zealand |
Niger | 36,000 | 2024 | 18.6 | |
Nigeria | 25,000,000 | 2024 | 206 | Internally displaced, per IDMC. |
Norway | 3,325 | 2024 | 6.2 | |
Pakistan | 3,000,000 | 2024 | 331 | |
Peru | 700,000 | 2024 | 223 | |
Philippines | 4,500,000 | 2024 | 424 | Street children in the Philippines |
Poland | 30,330 | 2024 | 8.0 | |
Portugal | 9,604 | 2024 | 8.0 | Homelessness in Portugal |
Romania | 2,976 | 2024 | 7.0 | |
Russia | 11,285 | 2024 | 0.8 | Homelessness in Russia |
Serbia | 20,000 | 2024 | 28.5 | |
Singapore | 1,036 | 2024 | 1.9 | |
Slovakia | 10,661 | 2024 | 19.5 | |
Slovenia | 1,047 | 2024 | 5.0 | |
Somalia | 1,400,000 | 2024 | 772 | |
South Africa | 55,719 | 2024 | 9.0 | Homelessness in South Africa |
South Korea | 8,986 | 2024 | 1.7 | |
South Sudan | 32,000 | 2024 | 29.8 | |
Spain | 28,552 | 2024 | 8.6 | Homelessness in Spain |
Sri Lanka | 800,000 | 2024 | 361 | |
Sudan | 3,000,000 | 2024 | 624 | |
Sweden | 33,269 | 2024 | 36.0 | Homelessness in Sweden |
Switzerland | 2,200 | 2024 | 2.5 | Homelessness in Switzerland |
Syria | 5,300,000 | 2024 | 2,302 | |
Thailand | 2,499 | 2024 | 0.3 | |
Togo | 15,000 | 2024 | 17.4 | |
Turkey | 1,500,000 | 2024 | 176 | |
Uganda | 4,016,980 | 2024 | 1,125 | |
Ukraine | 20,000 | 2024 | 5.4 | |
United Kingdom | 380,000 | 2024 | 56.1 | Homelessness in the United Kingdom |
United States | 650,000 | 2024 | 19.5 | Homelessness in the United States |
Vatican City State | 0 | 2024 | 0 | A shelter supported by the Holy See accommodates up to 30 homeless people in Rome. [2] |
Yemen | 300,000 | 2024 | 92.9 | |
Zambia | 400,000 | 2024 | 194 | |
Zimbabwe | 1,200,000 | 2024 | 848 |
Statistics on homelessness (and other social issues) in dependent territories are often integrated into those for the nation-states to which they are related. However, territories with significant populations often compile their statistics or generate news on homelessness. For example, in Hong Kong in 2017, media reports indicated that 1,800 people were homeless, with the problem mainly attributed to high costs of living. [3]
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. With 7.4 million residents of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre (426 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated territories in the world.
Demographic features of the population of Hong Kong include population density, ethnicity, education level, the health of the populace, religious affiliations, and other aspects.
The economy of Hong Kong is a highly developed free-market economy. It is characterised by low taxation, almost free port trade and a well-established international financial market. Its currency, called the Hong Kong dollar, is legally issued by three major international commercial banks, and is pegged to the US dollar. Interest rates are determined by the individual banks in Hong Kong to ensure that they are market driven. There is no officially recognised central banking system, although the Hong Kong Monetary Authority functions as a financial regulatory authority.
A megacity is a very large city, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its 2018 "World Urbanization Prospects" report defines megacities as urban agglomerations with over 10 million inhabitants. A University of Bonn report holds that they are "usually defined as metropolitan areas with a total population of 10 million or more people". Elsewhere in other sources, from five to eight million is considered the minimum threshold, alongside a population density of at least 2,000 per square kilometre. The terms conurbation, metropolis, and metroplex are also applied to the latter.
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, one billion to two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language by number of speakers, the third largest language by number of native speakers, and the most widespread language geographically. The countries in which English is the native language of most people are sometimes termed the Anglosphere. Speakers of English are called Anglophones.
Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community. They are similar to, but distinguishable from, various types of emergency shelters, which are typically operated for specific circumstances and populations—fleeing natural disasters or abusive social circumstances. Extreme weather conditions create problems similar to disaster management scenarios, and are handled with warming centers, which typically operate for short durations during adverse weather.
A flophouse or doss-house is a place that offers very low-cost lodging, providing space to sleep and minimal amenities.
A runaway is a minor or a person under a specified age who has left their parents or legal guardians without permission.
Income in India discusses the financial state in India. With rising economic growth and prosperity, India's income is also rising rapidly. As an overview, India's per capita net national income or NNI was around Rs. 98,374 in 2022-23. The per-capita income is a crude indicator of the prosperity of a country. In contrast, the gross national income at constant prices stood at over 128 trillion rupees. The same year, GRI growth rate at constant prices was around 6.6 percent. While GNI and NNI are both indicators for a country's economic performance and welfare, the GNI is related to the GDP or the Gross Domestic Product plus the net receipts from abroad, including wages and salaries, property income, net taxes and subsidies receivable from abroad. On the other hand, the NNI of a country is equal to its GNI net of depreciation.
The 1937 Great Hong Kong Typhoon was one of the deadliest typhoons in Hong Kong history, with a death toll estimated between 11,000–13,000. Part of the 1937 Pacific typhoon season, the tropical cyclone originated on 24 August to the south of Guam, which proceeded generally to the west-northwest. On 1 September the storm entered the South China Sea, and early the next day, the typhoon passed just south of Hong Kong before making landfall in southern China. It weakened after moving ashore, dissipating on 3 September.
The British diaspora consists of people of English, Scottish, Welsh, Northern Irish, Cornish, Manx and Channel Islands ancestral descent who live outside of the United Kingdom and its Crown Dependencies.
Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. The general category includes disparate situations, such as living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation such as family or friends, living in boarding houses with no security of tenure, and people who leave their domiciles because of civil conflict and are refugees within their country.
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.
Transitional housing is temporary housing for certain segments of the homeless population, including working homeless people who are earning too little money to afford long-term housing. Transitional housing is set up to transition residents into permanent, affordable housing. It is not in an emergency homeless shelter, but usually a room or apartment in a residence with support services.
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 2009, urban homelessness were estimated at less than 300, while rural homelessness was estimated between 500 and 1000. An additional 8,000–20,000 live in "temporary accommodation unsuited for long-term habitation ." Homelessness in New Zealand has traditionally been reduced by the provision of state housing, similar to Germany and other developed countries.
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 Germany is a significant social issue, one that is estimated to affect around 678,000 people. This figure includes about 372,000 people that are accommodated by public services, e.g. by the municipalities. Since 2014, there has been a 150% increase in the homeless population within the country. Reportedly, around 22,000 of the homeless population are children.