Housing Affordability Is A Global Issue

Original article here

Housing affordability has become a defining economic issue across much of the world, but the relationship between home prices and incomes differs more than many people realize.

Using data from the UN Habitat World Cities Report 2026, Visual Capitalist’s Dorothy Neufeld created this map comparing median home prices with annual household incomes across more than 180 countries, revealing where buying a home is relatively attainable—and where it remains far out of reach.

The World’s Most Affordable Housing Markets

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have the lowest home price-to-income ratios in the dataset at 3.0. The U.S. ranks seventh-lowest at 4.5, below Canada (9.4), Australia (7.5), and the UK (8.3).

The ratio shows how many years of median household income would be needed to match the median home price. A lower figure indicates greater affordability, though the measure does not account for mortgage rates or other homeownership costs.

Rank	Country	Home Price-to-Income Ratio
1	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	3.0
2	🇦🇪 UAE	3.0
3	🇿🇦 South Africa	3.4
4	🇰🇵 North Korea	3.5
5	🇴🇲 Oman	3.6
6	🇳🇷 Nauru	4.0
7	🇺🇸 U.S.	4.5
8	🇹🇻 Tuvalu	5.0
9	🇳🇦 Namibia	5.2
10	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	5.2
11	🇵🇲 Saint Pierre and Miquelon	5.2
12	🇶🇦 Qatar	5.3
13	🇧🇹 Bhutan	5.5
14	🇧🇿 Belize	5.5
15	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	5.5
16	🇵🇼 Palau	5.5
17	🇹🇴 Tonga	5.5
18	🇵🇸 State of Palestine	5.6
19	🇱🇦 Laos	5.7
20	🇩🇲 Dominica	5.7
21	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	5.8
22	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	5.8
23	🇬🇩 Grenada	5.9
24	🇫🇯 Fiji	6.0
25	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	6.0
26	🇼🇸 Samoa	6.0
27	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	6.1
28	🇲🇺 Mauritius	6.2
29	🇷🇪 Réunion	6.2
30	🇯🇲 Jamaica	6.2
31	🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	6.2
32	🇾🇹 Mayotte	6.5
33	🇸🇭 Saint Helena	6.5
34	🇧🇪 Belgium	6.5
35	🇰🇮 Kiribati	6.5
36	🇸🇨 Seychelles	6.6
37	🇩🇰 Denmark	6.6
38	🇵🇾 Paraguay	6.7
39	🇫🇲 Micronesia	6.7
40	🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	6.8
41	🇨🇾 Cyprus	6.8
42	🇮🇸 Iceland	7.0
43	🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis	7.0
44	🇲🇭 Marshall Islands	7.0
45	🇱🇾 Libya	7.2
46	🇸🇿 Eswatini	7.2
47	🇲🇻 Maldives	7.2
48	🇳🇱 Netherlands	7.2
49	🇧🇧 Barbados	7.2
50	🇮🇪 Ireland	7.3
51	🇱🇸 Lesotho	7.4
52	🇯🇴 Jordan	7.4
53	🇦🇺 Australia	7.5
54	🇰🇲 Comoros	7.6
55	🇩🇯 Djibouti	7.8
56	🇫🇮 Finland	7.8
57	🇪🇸 Spain	7.8
58	🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire	8.0
59	🇸🇳 Senegal	8.0
60	🇲🇲 Myanmar	8.0
61	🇧🇯 Benin	8.1
62	🇹🇬 Togo	8.1
63	🇲🇾 Malaysia	8.1
64	🇮🇶 Iraq	8.1
65	🇱🇻 Latvia	8.1
66	🇳🇴 Norway	8.1
67	🇷🇼 Rwanda	8.2
68	🇬🇦 Gabon	8.2
69	🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	8.2
70	🇲🇬 Madagascar	8.3
71	🇨🇲 Cameroon	8.3
72	🇨🇬 Congo	8.3
73	🇬🇲 Gambia	8.3
74	🇬🇧 UK	8.3
75	🇿🇲 Zambia	8.4
76	🇲🇽 Mexico	8.4
77	🇸🇲 San Marino	8.5
78	🇪🇭 Western Sahara	8.6
79	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	8.6
80	🇲🇷 Mauritania	8.6
81	🇧🇭 Bahrain	8.6
82	🇲🇼 Malawi	8.8
83	🇲🇱 Mali	8.9
84	🇧🇸 Bahamas	8.9
85	🇭🇳 Honduras	8.9
86	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	9.0
87	🇳🇿 New Zealand	9.0
88	🇪🇷 Eritrea	9.1
89	🇸🇩 Sudan	9.2
90	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	9.2
91	🇱🇷 Liberia	9.2
92	🇮🇳 India	9.2
93	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	9.2
94	🇨🇦 Canada	9.4
95	🇧🇮 Burundi	9.5
96	🇦🇩 Andorra	9.5
97	🇱🇮 Liechtenstein	9.5
98	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	9.5
99	🇧🇲 Bermuda	9.5
100	🇸🇸 South Sudan	9.6
101	🇳🇪 Niger	9.6
102	🇮🇹 Italy	9.7
103	🇨🇭 Switzerland	9.7
104	🇬🇳 Guinea	9.8
105	🇸🇪 Sweden	9.9
106	🇸🇴 Somalia	10.2
107	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	10.2
108	🇵🇦 Panama	10.2
109	🇯🇵 Japan	10.3
110	🇦🇹 Austria	10.3
111	🇹🇩 Chad	10.4
112	🇧🇴 Bolivia	10.5
113	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo	10.6
114	🇩🇪 Germany	10.7
115	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	10.9
116	🇷🇴 Romania	10.9
117	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	11.1
118	🇪🇨 Ecuador	11.1
119	🇦🇴 Angola	11.2
120	🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	11.4
121	🇰🇼 Kuwait	11.5
122	🇬🇷 Greece	11.5
123	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	11.5
124	🇪🇪 Estonia	11.8
125	🇫🇷 France	11.8
126	🇹🇳 Tunisia	11.9
127	🇬🇹 Guatemala	11.9
128	🇪🇬 Egypt	12.0
129	🇲🇩 Moldova	12.1
130	🇲🇹 Malta	12.1
131	🇸🇮 Slovenia	12.1
132	🇺🇦 Ukraine	12.2
133	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	12.6
134	🇹🇷 Türkiye	12.6
135	🇵🇹 Portugal	12.6
136	🇱🇹 Lithuania	12.7
137	🇲🇪 Montenegro	13.1
138	🇸🇰 Slovakia	13.2
139	🇭🇷 Croatia	13.2
140	🇬🇪 Georgia	13.3
141	🇵🇱 Poland	13.3
142	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	13.3
143	🇺🇾 Uruguay	13.7
144	🇧🇾 Belarus	13.8
145	🇵🇰 Pakistan	13.9
146	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	14.1
147	🇮🇱 Israel	14.1
148	🇲🇦 Morocco	14.2
149	🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	14.3
150	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	14.5
151	🇭🇺 Hungary	14.6
152	🇨🇿 Czechia	14.9
153	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	15.3
154	🇸🇬 Singapore	15.5
155	🇨🇱 Chile	15.6
156	🇦🇱 Albania	15.7
157	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	15.8
158	🇷🇸 Serbia	15.9
159	🇰🇪 Kenya	16.0
160	🇩🇿 Algeria	16.0
161	🇦🇲 Armenia	17.2
162	🇨🇴 Colombia	17.5
163	🇲🇳 Mongolia	17.6
164	🇱🇧 Lebanon	18.3
165	🇧🇷 Brazil	18.3
166	🇮🇩 Indonesia	18.5
167	🇻🇪 Venezuela	18.9
168	🇵🇪 Peru	19.0
169	🇦🇷 Argentina	22.7
170	🇻🇳 Vietnam	23.5
171	🇹🇭 Thailand	24.0
172	🇲🇨 Monaco	25.0
173	🇮🇷 Iran	25.1
174	🇰🇷 South Korea	26.0
175	🇳🇬 Nigeria	28.2
176	🇵🇭 Philippines	30.1
177	🇰🇭 Cambodia	32.5
178	🇳🇵 Nepal	32.8
179	🇨🇳 China	34.6
180	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	40.8
181	🇸🇾 Syrian Arab Republic	86.7
—	🌐 World Average	11.2

In Gulf countries, relatively high incomes and government-backed housing initiatives help keep homeownership within reach for many citizens.

In the U.S., rising mortgage rates and constrained housing supply have weakened affordability in recent years. Even so, home values remain relatively low compared with household incomes on an international basis.

Around three billion people worldwide remain underserved by the housing market as home prices continue to outpace incomes in many countries.

Where Buying a Home Is Most Difficult

At the other end of the ranking, Syria records the world’s highest home price-to-income ratio at 86.7, followed by Sri Lanka (40.8) and China (34.6). South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines also rank among the world’s least affordable housing markets.

Although China’s housing market has cooled in recent years, home prices remain high relative to household incomes after decades of rapid appreciation fueled by urbanization and investment demand.

Several European countries also post relatively high ratios. Portugal (12.6), France (11.8), Luxembourg (11.5), and Germany (10.7) all rank well above the U.S. (4.5), reflecting affordability pressures across many advanced economies despite generally higher incomes.

Why Housing Affordability Is a Global Challenge

The data shows that housing affordability depends less on a country’s overall wealth than on how closely home prices track local incomes.

Even wealthy economies can become difficult places to buy a home when prices rise faster than wages, while some emerging markets remain comparatively affordable despite lower incomes.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on home price-to-income ratios by state.

By PatriotmanPublished On: July 30, 2026Categories: Uncategorized0 Comments

About the Author: Patriotman

Patriotman currently ekes out a survivalist lifestyle in a suburban northeastern state as best as he can. He has varied experience in political science, public policy, biological sciences, and higher education. Proudly Catholic and an Eagle Scout, he has no military experience and thus offers a relatable perspective for the average suburban prepper who is preparing for troubled times on the horizon with less than ideal teams and in less than ideal locations. Brushbeater Store Page: http://bit.ly/BrushbeaterStore