Owning a home is on the bucket list for many and is often considered a sign of economic stability, but in some parts of the world, it’s not that common to buy your own property.

In fact, in some countries, as few as a fifth of the nation’s population can say they are the proud owners of their home, with the vast majority renting instead.

So which countries have the fewest homeowners? Click or scroll through to find out...

The rates of home ownership per country are based on data from the online database WorldPopulationReview, which provides global population data and demographics. It is taken from national databases for each country and based on the latest data available – this varies from that collected in 2017 to 2022. The figure measures the ratio of housing units owned to the total number of residential units in each country.

NB: all details are accurate at the time of publication.

Data from 2019 shows that 72.5% of Brazil’s 212 million-strong population own their own home, but that figure used to be higher, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Around a fifth don’t have any documentation to prove ownership, suggesting the properties have been handed down through families or that the ownership itself could be precarious. Despite many owning their residences, a lot of people don’t feel safe within their own walls – among the lowest income neighbourhoods, twice as many people feel unsafe in their own homes compared to the wealthy. For example in Amapá, 48.1% of people felt unsafe, whereas the figure was lowest in Santa Catarina at 9.9%.

Apartments are common among the wealthy in Brazil’s urban areas, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. At the same time, favelas are the informal settlements often occupied by the country’s poorest residents.

Home ownership is a big priority in Belgium – so much so that there is a national idiom that translates as: “A Belgian is born with a brick in his stomach”. That might explain why as of 2022, 72.5% of the population owned their properties out of a total population of 11.7 million.

As well as the cultural importance of owning a house, homeowners are also helped along by a stable housing market and steady economy. There is also a big difference in the number of homeowners in the country’s capital, Brussels (pictured), and the rest of the country, with more rural residents much more likely to own their dwellings.

Across the board, it is houses that are more commonly owned by their occupier than apartments, according to 2021 census data. 

Just over the border, 71.1% of Luxembourg’s 676,000 residents are homeowners and among EU countries, they have the second-largest number of rooms per person at 2.2, according to the official European Union data site, Eurostat.

Like most things in Luxembourg, properties are not cheap and the country saw one of the biggest spikes in house prices in Europe between 2010 and 2022, when prices soared by 135%. Nationwide, most people in Luxembourg live in a house rather than an apartment, according to 2022 data.

Of the 18.3 million people living in the Netherlands, 70.6% are homeowners, according to 2022 data. Most people (78.9%) live in a house, which is the second highest rate in Europe and residents have reported having plenty of space, too, with only 2.9% saying they live in an overcrowded home, according to 2022 Eurostat data.

While owning a property is popular, it doesn’t mean it’s cheap. In October 2024, the country saw its largest increase in house prices in over two years, with owner-occupied dwellings costing 11.5% more compared to the previous year, according to Statistics Netherlands.

70% of Ireland’s nearly 5.3 million people are homeowners, which is just above the 69.1% average for the European Union, according to 2022 data. 

More people (89.7%) live in houses in Ireland than in any other European country, while there is an average of 2.1 rooms per person, Eurostat data suggests. The 2016 census showed that renting was more common than owning property before the age of 35. This age has gradually risen over the past 15 years.

The island of Cyprus has just 1.4 million residents and 69.8% of them own a property. Cyprus has a huge number of so-called ‘under-occupied’ homes, with 70.9% of houses being considered too large for the needs of the household living in it, according to Eurostat data. This is typically older people who decide to stay in a big home after their children have grown up and moved out.

House prices also bucked the trend across most of Europe and decreased between 2010 and 2022, as they dropped by 5%. Many towns and villages across Cyprus still have traditional properties, such as this quaint house in Lania. 

Out of the 64 million people living in South Africa, 69.7% own their own homes, but it has become increasingly hard to do so thanks to high interest rates, increasing inflation and a difficult job market.

Seemingly, it isn’t a lack of enthusiasm preventing people from buying in South Africa, but a lack of funds. The TPN Tenant Survey Report 2024 showed that 58% of people surveyed said it was financial obstacles preventing them from buying, with 48.1% saying they just can’t afford it. For around 10% surveyed, a bad credit score was the main barrier.

Around 69.5% of Finland’s population of 5.6 million reside in properties they have bought, but the vast majority of people (82%) under the age of 30 live in rented accommodation, according to Statistics Finland.

Most people in Finland (79%) live in one- or two-person accommodation and 45% of the people who live alone are over the age of 60. Homes in Finland are some of the cosiest in Europe, with only 1.4% of the population reporting that they were not able to keep their properties adequately warm, according to Eurostat. That’s compared to the likes of Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece, where around a fifth of the population struggle to properly heat their homes.

Argentina has faced a wave of crises in the last couple of decades, including hyperinflation and various economic crashes, leaving many people struggling when it comes to housing. The charity Habitat for Humanity estimates more than 10 million people are facing housing problems, with 30% of the 45.8 million-strong population lacking adequate accommodation.

Around 68.9% of the population own their properties and those homes can vary hugely in terms of quality. For example in the capital, Buenos Aires, many people live in high-rise apartments, but in that same city, lots of people occupy shantytowns.

In Canada, around 66.5% of the 39.9 million citizens are homeowners. Home ownership is most common in Newfoundland and Labrador (75.7%) and New Brunswick (73%), according to census data from 2021, while the self-governed Inuit region of Nunavut has the lowest rate of home ownership at 19.2%.

Due to high living costs, lower income and limited employment opportunities, most people in the area rely on public or subsidised housing. Single-detached houses were the most popular accommodation in 2021, while apartments in buildings with five or more storeys made up 10.7% of all private accommodation.

Of Australia’s population of 26.8 million, 66.3% are homeowners. Most people (70%) live in detached houses, around 13% live in townhouses and approximately 16% live in apartments, according to 2021 census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Decreasing numbers of Australians own their homes, with 5% more people renting in 2017-18 than 20 years prior. The data showed that people who are renting tend to devote more of their income to housing than those who own their properties.

Around 346 million people live in the United States and 65.9% are homeowners. The vast majority of people (64%) live in single-family, detached properties, according to 2021 data from Statista.

The number of people under 35 who own a property has dipped in the last 20 years, with only 38.6% owning a home. Meanwhile, 79% of people aged 65 and older own their property, according to 2024 census data.

The typical age of a first-time buyer in the US is 35 years old, while the age of a typical repeat buyer is 58, National Association of Realtors data shows.

The small sovereign state of Brunei has a population of just 464,000, and 65% of those residents are homeowners. Most houses in Brunei are built to cope with the quick-changing climes of Southeast Asia and are robust against heat, humidity and tropical storms.

Brunei is very much a welfare state, which means there are several housing schemes to help provide everybody with suitable accommodation. Nearly 97% of the population lives in the western area, including the Brunei-Muara, Tutong and Belait districts.

Of Sweden’s 10.6 million-strong population, 64.9% are homeowners. There are an average of two people per household according to Eurostat data and Swedish houses are considered to have the lowest environmental impact in all of Europe.

Most Swedes (51.8%) live in a house, but apartment living is also common. One in three people in Sweden live in the 10 largest cities, with areas such as Stockholm, Goteborg and Malmo (pictured) becoming more and more populated each year, according to Statistics Sweden.

Houses are the most common living arrangement in France, followed by apartments. Out of nearly 66.6 million people, 64.7% are homeowners.

House buying in France has slowed down by 17% year on year, according to Knight Frank’s Residential Property Market Report 2023. This has largely been caused by households typically having less money and the worsening economic climate, paired with a lack of new homes being built.

Apartments are the most popular choice of living arrangement among Israel’s 9.4 million people and 64.6% of those people own their properties.

One report by Israeli news site Haaretz in 2018 suggested as many as 98% of Israelis would live in apartment blocks by 2050 as the country was set to become a “land of apartment towers”. High housing costs, a shortage of homes and fast-paced urbanisation have contributed to the popularity of tower block living.

Home ownership in New Zealand has been on the rise in recent years and currently stands at 64.5% of the 5.2 million population. The highest rates of home ownership are in districts around the cities of Christchurch and Wellington, with 82.2% of residences in the Waimakariri district being owned by the people living there.

The latest New Zealand census showed that owning a property is less common within the city centres, where house prices tend to be much higher. However, the median age of homeowners in Auckland was 36 years, compared to 55 years in the North Island district of Thames-Coromandel.

Around 63% of the 69.3 million people living in the UK are homeowners. According to 2023 Statista data, the average age of first-time home buyers in England is 33.

It’s hardest to own homes in the UK capital, London, with only 26% of Londoners aged 25 to 29 owning a home with a mortgage, compared to 36% of young people who live outside the capital, according to the UK Department for Work and Pensions in 2022.

Home ownership in Saudi Arabia is increasing, in part thanks to housing programmes by the kingdom’s government, and currently sits at 62% of the 34.2 million-strong population.

The country is aiming for home ownership to reach 70% by 2030. A report by Knight Frank in 2022 showed the importance of home ownership to Saudis – 57% of those surveyed said it would be the fulfilment of a lifelong goal if they could buy their own residence. Other reasons cited for wanting to own a home included the security provided (50%) and that owning works out cheaper than renting (25%).

Iran’s capital Tehran (pictured) is the sixth least affordable city to live in terms of price-to-income ratio, according to Numbeo data, so it is perhaps unsurprising that home ownership rates are lower than most. It sits at around 60.5% of the 91.9 million population.

Iran has a housing shortage, which has helped to drive up prices. The country has become so unaffordable that one report published in the Iranian newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad suggested people aged 25 to 26 living in Tehran would have to wait 166 years to become homeowners given their likely earnings and the skyrocketing prices.

Denmark has one of the lower rates of home ownership at 59.2%, out of its population of almost six million. According to Statistics Denmark, each person in the country has an average of 581 square feet (54sqm) of living space, and most people live in detached houses or farmhouses.

On average, the Danes dedicate around 25.4% of their income to housing, according to Eurostat data, and high property prices mean home ownership is particularly inaccessible for lower-income and younger people in Denmark.

In Turkey, 57.5% of the population of nearly 87.6 million are homeowners. High house prices and interest rates are cited as major reasons for fewer people getting on the property ladder. The typical household features three people, according to 2021 census data. 

The most populated city in Turkey is by far the country’s capital Istanbul (pictured), which is home to around 14.8 million people, followed by Ankara (3.5 million) and Izmir (2.5 million). 

Home ownership is on the rise in South Korea, but at 57.3% it is still low compared to most countries. The majority of people who own their property are between the ages of 50 and 59, while only 10% of people aged 30 to 39 own a home, according to 2022 data from Statistics Korea.

The southeastern city of Ulsan recorded the highest rate of home ownership, while the lowest was the capital city Seoul. City apartments are very popular in South Korea, with many prioritising tightly-packed neighbourhoods convenient for work – such as in the financial district of Seoul (pictured) – to more spacious abodes.

Japan has one of the lowest rates of home ownership in Asia, with 55% of people having their own property. The capital Tokyo is one of the most overcrowded cities in the world and its popularity means that house prices are through the roof, so most people have no choice but to rent.

In 2023, the average price of a single-family home in the Greater Tokyo area came to 41.08 million Japanese yen (£215k/$263k), according to Statista data. Because of the huge number of people wanting to live in metropolitan areas, apartments are a common living arrangement.

Renting is incredibly common in Austria, meaning that only 51.4% of the population of 9.1 million are homeowners. People who own a house have on average 602 square feet (55.9sqm) per person, while flat owners tend to have slightly less space at 465 square feet (43.2sqm), according to 2023 data by Statistics Austria.

On average there are 5.2 rooms per house and 3.5 rooms per flat. Austria also has the highest rate of self-built properties in Europe, at around 70%, which is enormous compared to countries such as the UK, where around 7% are self-built, as reported by British newspaper The Telegraph.

Germany has the lowest percentage of homeowners in the European Union at just 49.1% of the 84.4 million population. This is largely driven by housing policies that incentivise people to rent, the German national bank Bundesbank said.

In city centres, apartments are common but bigger houses, often with vast swaths of land, are more common in rural parts of the country. Although many Germans never actually buy a home, the average age of first-time buyers is fairly low at 34.

Munich had the most expensive houses of the German cities in 2024, with a typical price of €1.6 million (£1.4m/$1.7m), Statista data shows.

In Switzerland, home ownership isn’t considered an important milestone as it is in most Western nations, and the Swiss love to rent. Only 42% of the 8.9 million people living in Switzerland own their properties.

Basel-Stadt and Geneva have the highest proportion of renters, at 83% and 78% respectively, while the mountainous areas of Valais and Appenzell have the fewest, at 41% and 43%, according to the Federal Statistical Office.

While it might be more popular, household costs including utilities, energy costs and repairs tend to be higher for people who are renting.

In the United Arab Emirates, only 28% of the population of 11.2 million are homeowners. This is another example that shows how a country’s home ownership rate doesn’t correlate with its wealth.

For many, the volatility of the housing market is off-putting and rental costs are usually similar to the prices associated with owning your own home. Dubai is the most populated part of the UAE and it’s certainly not cheap – the average purchase price of an apartment was AED1.5 million (£320k/$408k) at the end of 2023, while a villa would set you back AED3.2 million ($871 / £684k) on average, according to Global Property Guide.

Home ownership is not common in Nigeria, with only 25% of the population of 234.5 million officially being on the property ladder. Several factors contribute to the low levels of ownership, including a challenging mortgage system and the high cost of development thanks to decades-old land usage legislation.

The African nation scores badly in the International Property Rights Index 2024, ranking 115th out of 125 countries, showing Nigerians' little control over their homes and the surrounding land. 

It is also common in some of sub-Saharan Africa that huge parts of rural land are undocumented, according to the World Bank, making enforcing any kind of regulations even harder.

The country in the world with the smallest percentage of homeowners is Hong Kong, where just 22.1% of the 7.4 million population have their own property.

Hong Kong has long been considered one of the most expensive cities in the world and is regularly rated as one of the priciest places to live. It has a huge population in relation to its size, making the property market a challenge even for the wealthy.

A skilled service worker needs more than double the average annual income if they want to buy a 650-square-foot (60sqm) flat, according to the UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index 2023. House prices are starting to come down, according to this year’s report by UBS, but it will be a long time before that adjustment makes a difference to the number of people who can afford to buy.

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