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Housing Affordability Is A Global Issue

by | Jul 30, 2026 | Top Ten


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.



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