Where do all 7.9 billion people who inhabit the planet live, though? How many people live in each house, how many people are homeless, and how many houses are there in the world?
The number of households in the world can be calculated by taking the world population of 7 billion people and dividing it by the average number of people living in households in the United States (four), China (seven), India (four), Europe (500–700 million), and Africa (four).
Table of Contents
What is Considered a House?
Definition of terms is necessary before calculating the number of houses in the world. While the Macquarie Dictionary defines a house as “a building for people to live in, usually one which is self-contained and designed for a single family”, for the purposes of this article we broaden the concept to include all types of buildings (including apartment blocks) in which people live, apart from collective living quarters, such as hotels, rooming houses and other lodging houses, institutions, and camps.
The Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Statistics Division, uses a definition that is similar to this one. The figures in this article are from that organisation’s “Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses Revision 2”, which was published in 2011.
How Does the Global Population Differ from the Global Total of Households?
Based on data gathered from world censuses over the previous 20 years, we estimated that there were 2,300,000,000 homes worldwide. Our final tally takes into account population growth since each estimate was made.
According to the average size of American households, it is dependent on population growth. If families can live in them, more homes can be constructed.
We’ll see in the sections that follow why the relatively recent phenomenon of smaller households in western countries is causing the number of homes to grow faster than the rate of population growth.
Which Countries and Continents Have the Most Houses?
China, with a population of 1.44 billion, is the world’s most populous nation. China has the most homes (roughly 658 million), as one might anticipate. The smallest number of homes (28,314 and 16,700, respectively) are found in tiny nations like Liechtenstein and Bermuda, which are also small in size.
The number of houses can be broken down into continents and regions as follows: Africa has 260 million houses, Asia has 1.3 billion, Australasia has 13 million, The Caribbean has 12 million, Central America has 43 million, Europe has 242 million, the Middle East has 34 million, North America has 148 million, and South America has 125 million.
Read about The Pros and Cons of Buying An Older House
Which Countries Have the Largest Households?
It’s crucial to note this. There is a correlation between the number of houses and population in each country, but it is not a perfect one. It depends on factors such as household income, the size of the family, and the presence of extended families. These variables change from country to country and city to city.
In light of all these variables, European nations account for 10 of the top 11 nations with the smallest household sizes. With just 2.05 people per household, Germany had the smallest households worldwide.
At the other end of the spectrum, the top ten nations with the biggest households were primarily from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Senegal had the most households overall, with an average of 8.66 people.
How Many Houses Are There in Australia?
How does Australia stack up against the rest of the world? Australia had a population of just over 25.5 million, according to the statistics, which were derived from the 2011 census. With roughly 10.2 million homes, our average household size was a modest 2.5.
In 2011, 24% of our households consisted of just one person, 50% of households consisted of 2-3 people, 22% of households consisted of 4-5 people, and 3% of households consisted of six or more people.
How Many People in the World Are Homeless?
Naturally, not everybody is fortunate enough to be counted among these statistics. An estimated 100 million people were homeless worldwide, according to a 2005 United Nations report. 78 million of those were in India alone.
Depending on the definition of homelessness used, these numbers could be even higher. For instance, in Australia, the term “homeless” is used to refer to anyone who is living in unsafe or unsecure housing, or who is unsure of their housing situation from week to week or month to month.
If this definition were applied globally, according to some estimations, the rate of homelessness might be closer to 1. 5 billion people. In other words, we must construct more.
Conclusion
As a result of the existing and projected need for new homes, governments are actively seeking to promote new developments in “offsite”.
Prefabricated building techniques allow for the faster construction of new homes.
Offsite construction has received significant attention in the UK’s Industrial Strategy, which was released in November 2017.
Due to the emergence of new markets in the commercial construction, healthcare, and educational sectors over the past ten years, this industry has experienced rapid growth.
But if prefab construction is to meet the demand for more homes at a faster rate, new solutions to the problem are required. We appreciate you taking the time to read our article on the global housing shortage.