Housing Affordability Is A Global Issue

Jul 30, 2026 ·
Housing Affordability Is A Global Issue

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.

RankCountryHome Price-to-Income Ratio
1🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia3.0
2🇦🇪 UAE3.0
3🇿🇦 South Africa3.4
4🇰🇵 North Korea3.5
5🇴🇲 Oman3.6
6🇳🇷 Nauru4.0
7🇺🇸 U.S.4.5
8🇹🇻 Tuvalu5.0
9🇳🇦 Namibia5.2
10🇹🇱 Timor-Leste5.2
11🇵🇲 Saint Pierre and Miquelon5.2
12🇶🇦 Qatar5.3
13🇧🇹 Bhutan5.5
14🇧🇿 Belize5.5
15🇸🇧 Solomon Islands5.5
16🇵🇼 Palau5.5
17🇹🇴 Tonga5.5
18🇵🇸 State of Palestine5.6
19🇱🇦 Laos5.7
20🇩🇲 Dominica5.7
21🇳🇮 Nicaragua5.8
22🇻🇺 Vanuatu5.8
23🇬🇩 Grenada5.9
24🇫🇯 Fiji6.0
25🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea6.0
26🇼🇸 Samoa6.0
27🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago6.1
28🇲🇺 Mauritius6.2
29🇷🇪 Réunion6.2
30🇯🇲 Jamaica6.2
31🇱🇨 Saint Lucia6.2
32🇾🇹 Mayotte6.5
33🇸🇭 Saint Helena6.5
34🇧🇪 Belgium6.5
35🇰🇮 Kiribati6.5
36🇸🇨 Seychelles6.6
37🇩🇰 Denmark6.6
38🇵🇾 Paraguay6.7
39🇫🇲 Micronesia6.7
40🇨🇻 Cabo Verde6.8
41🇨🇾 Cyprus6.8
42🇮🇸 Iceland7.0
43🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis7.0
44🇲🇭 Marshall Islands7.0
45🇱🇾 Libya7.2
46🇸🇿 Eswatini7.2
47🇲🇻 Maldives7.2
48🇳🇱 Netherlands7.2
49🇧🇧 Barbados7.2
50🇮🇪 Ireland7.3
51🇱🇸 Lesotho7.4
52🇯🇴 Jordan7.4
53🇦🇺 Australia7.5
54🇰🇲 Comoros7.6
55🇩🇯 Djibouti7.8
56🇫🇮 Finland7.8
57🇪🇸 Spain7.8
58🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire8.0
59🇸🇳 Senegal8.0
60🇲🇲 Myanmar8.0
61🇧🇯 Benin8.1
62🇹🇬 Togo8.1
63🇲🇾 Malaysia8.1
64🇮🇶 Iraq8.1
65🇱🇻 Latvia8.1
66🇳🇴 Norway8.1
67🇷🇼 Rwanda8.2
68🇬🇦 Gabon8.2
69🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe8.2
70🇲🇬 Madagascar8.3
71🇨🇲 Cameroon8.3
72🇨🇬 Congo8.3
73🇬🇲 Gambia8.3
74🇬🇧 UK8.3
75🇿🇲 Zambia8.4
76🇲🇽 Mexico8.4
77🇸🇲 San Marino8.5
78🇪🇭 Western Sahara8.6
79🇧🇫 Burkina Faso8.6
80🇲🇷 Mauritania8.6
81🇧🇭 Bahrain8.6
82🇲🇼 Malawi8.8
83🇲🇱 Mali8.9
84🇧🇸 Bahamas8.9
85🇭🇳 Honduras8.9
86🇸🇱 Sierra Leone9.0
87🇳🇿 New Zealand9.0
88🇪🇷 Eritrea9.1
89🇸🇩 Sudan9.2
90🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau9.2
91🇱🇷 Liberia9.2
92🇮🇳 India9.2
93🇧🇬 Bulgaria9.2
94🇨🇦 Canada9.4
95🇧🇮 Burundi9.5
96🇦🇩 Andorra9.5
97🇱🇮 Liechtenstein9.5
98🇨🇷 Costa Rica9.5
99🇧🇲 Bermuda9.5
100🇸🇸 South Sudan9.6
101🇳🇪 Niger9.6
102🇮🇹 Italy9.7
103🇨🇭 Switzerland9.7
104🇬🇳 Guinea9.8
105🇸🇪 Sweden9.9
106🇸🇴 Somalia10.2
107🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea10.2
108🇵🇦 Panama10.2
109🇯🇵 Japan10.3
110🇦🇹 Austria10.3
111🇹🇩 Chad10.4
112🇧🇴 Bolivia10.5
113🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of the Congo10.6
114🇩🇪 Germany10.7
115🇰🇿 Kazakhstan10.9
116🇷🇴 Romania10.9
117🇨🇫 Central African Republic11.1
118🇪🇨 Ecuador11.1
119🇦🇴 Angola11.2
120🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina11.4
121🇰🇼 Kuwait11.5
122🇬🇷 Greece11.5
123🇱🇺 Luxembourg11.5
124🇪🇪 Estonia11.8
125🇫🇷 France11.8
126🇹🇳 Tunisia11.9
127🇬🇹 Guatemala11.9
128🇪🇬 Egypt12.0
129🇲🇩 Moldova12.1
130🇲🇹 Malta12.1
131🇸🇮 Slovenia12.1
132🇺🇦 Ukraine12.2
133🇧🇩 Bangladesh12.6
134🇹🇷 Türkiye12.6
135🇵🇹 Portugal12.6
136🇱🇹 Lithuania12.7
137🇲🇪 Montenegro13.1
138🇸🇰 Slovakia13.2
139🇭🇷 Croatia13.2
140🇬🇪 Georgia13.3
141🇵🇱 Poland13.3
142🇲🇰 North Macedonia13.3
143🇺🇾 Uruguay13.7
144🇧🇾 Belarus13.8
145🇵🇰 Pakistan13.9
146🇦🇫 Afghanistan14.1
147🇮🇱 Israel14.1
148🇲🇦 Morocco14.2
149🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan14.3
150🇦🇿 Azerbaijan14.5
151🇭🇺 Hungary14.6
152🇨🇿 Czechia14.9
153🇺🇿 Uzbekistan15.3
154🇸🇬 Singapore15.5
155🇨🇱 Chile15.6
156🇦🇱 Albania15.7
157🇩🇴 Dominican Republic15.8
158🇷🇸 Serbia15.9
159🇰🇪 Kenya16.0
160🇩🇿 Algeria16.0
161🇦🇲 Armenia17.2
162🇨🇴 Colombia17.5
163🇲🇳 Mongolia17.6
164🇱🇧 Lebanon18.3
165🇧🇷 Brazil18.3
166🇮🇩 Indonesia18.5
167🇻🇪 Venezuela18.9
168🇵🇪 Peru19.0
169🇦🇷 Argentina22.7
170🇻🇳 Vietnam23.5
171🇹🇭 Thailand24.0
172🇲🇨 Monaco25.0
173🇮🇷 Iran25.1
174🇰🇷 South Korea26.0
175🇳🇬 Nigeria28.2
176🇵🇭 Philippines30.1
177🇰🇭 Cambodia32.5
178🇳🇵 Nepal32.8
179🇨🇳 China34.6
180🇱🇰 Sri Lanka40.8
181🇸🇾 Syrian Arab Republic86.7
--🌐 World Average11.2

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.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 05:45