How Many Houses are in the World? | Architecture & Design (2024)

We know that there are 7.9 billion people in the world, but where do they all live? How many houses are there in the world, how many people live in each house, and home many people are homeless?

How many houses are in the world?

As of 2021, there are somewhere in the vicinity of 2.3 billion houses in the world.

How Many Houses are in the World? | Architecture & Design (1)

What is considered a house?

Before we work out how many houses in the world, we must define our terms. 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.
This definition is in line with the definition used by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations Statistics Division. 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 Many Houses are in the World? | Architecture & Design (2)

How does the total number of houses relate to the total number of people in the world?

Our figure of 2.3 billion houses is an estimate that relies on census figures taken from around the world over the past 20 years or so. Our final figure has been adjusted to account for population growth since each of the figures was taken.

While it aligns with population, it also relies on household size. Smaller household size means more houses. As we shall see later in this article, the relatively new phenomenon of household sizes in western nations getting smaller means the number of houses is rising faster than the rate of population increase.

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Which countries and continents have the most houses?

The most populous country in the world is China (population 1.44 billion). As one might expect, China also has the largest number of houses (roughly 658 million). At the other end of the scale, small countries like Bermuda and Liechtenstein also have the smallest number of houses (28,314 and 16,700, respectively).

In terms of continents and regions, the number of houses are as follows: Africa - 260 million houses; Asia - 1.3 billion houses; Australasia - 13 million houses; The Caribbean - 12 million houses; Central America - 43 million houses; Europe - 242 million houses; the Middle East - 34 million houses; North America - 148 million houses; and South America: - 125 million houses.

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Which countries have the largest households?

This is an important point. While the number of houses does correlate with the population of each country, that relationship is far from exact. It depends on things like wealth, family size, and the presence of extended families within the one household. These factors vary city by city, and across the world.

Considering all these factors, the countries with the smallest household sizes (10 out of the top 11) are European countries. Germany had the smallest households of any country (just 2.05 people per household).

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Meanwhile at the other end of the scale, the top ten countries with the largest households were mainly from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The country with the largest households was Senegal with 8.66 people per household.

How Many Houses are in the World? | Architecture & Design (6)

How many houses are there in Australia?

How does Australia compare with the rest of the world? According to the figures, which were taken from the 2011 census, Australia had a population of just over 25.5 million. Our average household size was quite small at 2.5 and we had about 10.2 million houses.

To drill down a bit further, in 2011, 24% of our households included just one person, 50% included 2-3 people, 22% included 4-5 people, and 3% of households included six or more people.

How Many Houses are in the World? | Architecture & Design (7)

How many people in the world are homeless?

Of course, not everyone is lucky to be included in these statistics. According to a 2005 report by the United Nations, an estimated 100 million people around the world were homeless. 78 million of those were in India alone.

These figures could be even higher depending on the definition of homelessness that is used. For example, here in Australia homelessness is defined as including not just those living on the street, but also anybody who is living in unsafe and unsecure accommodation, or those who don’t know where they will be living from week to week or in a month’s time.

Some estimates suggest that if this type of definition were used on a worldwide scale, the rate of homelessness could be more like 1. 5 billion people. In other words, we need to build more.

How Many Houses are in the World? | Architecture & Design (8)

How Many Houses are in the World? | Architecture & Design (2024)

FAQs

How many many houses are in the world? ›

As of 2021, there are somewhere in the vicinity of 2.3 billion houses in the world.

How many houses are in the world 2023? ›

Our figure of 2.3 billion houses is an estimate that relies on census figures taken from around the world over the past 20 years or so.

How many different houses are there? ›

How many styles of houses are there? There are as many as 36 different styles of houses. Of course. the five most popular make up a large part of the housing market: Ranch, Craftsman, Tudor style homes, Colonial style, and Cape Cod style.

Who has the most number of houses in the world? ›

1) China is the world's most populous country (population 1.43 billion). China has the greatest number of houses, as one might expect (roughly 660 million).

How many homes are in top of the world? ›

On Top of the World Overview

The planned 10,000 homes make the community one of the largest in the state.

How many houses can you own in life? ›

Second homes and investment properties

Conventional mortgage guidelines suggest lenders can approve a mortgage if you own up to 10 financed properties. That total count includes your primary residence and homes with owner financing or hard money business loans.

How houses will be in 2050? ›

New homes in 2050 will be highly energy-efficient – featuring several ways of capturing, storing, and distributing energy. Due to climate change, homes will need to be more responsive to weather events. In addition, better cooling systems will ensure homes don't overheat in the potentially warmer summers.

What will house be like in 2050? ›

Houses will be interactive and fully wireless, allowing us to access data from any point. A drive for extensive resource efficiency could see water harvested and recycled within each home. Integrated solar panels and microgen combined with ultra-thin insulation films will allow some houses to come off the grid.

What is the max number of houses in New World? ›

You can own up to three houses in New World, so think carefully about which settlements you purchase property from. Don't gloss over trophies or storage, either. Trophies provide passive buffs that work in every zone, whether you own property there or not.

What is a house with 3 floors called? ›

A split-level home may have three or four different levels, but can still be considered to be two stories because it connects a two-story section to a single-story section, with the single-story section halfway between the two floors.

What is a 1 story house called? ›

A bungalow is a one-story house, cottage, or cabin. Bungalows are generally small in terms of square footage, but it is not uncommon to see very large bungalows.

What is a house behind a house called? ›

What Do You Call A House Behind A House? A house behind a house is also called a Rear Strata Block, Battleaxe Block or Rear Strata Development. Unlike street-facing residential-style homes, there are quite a few more requirements before an HBH can be built within your property.

Who owns the largest house in America? ›

Experience America's Largest Home®, as magnificent today as it was more than a century ago. Your self-guided house visit spans three floors and the basem*nt of the luxurious family home of George and Edith Vanderbilt.

Who owns the most houses in America? ›

John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Malone made his fortune as a media tycoon, building the company Tele-Communications, Inc, or TCI, and acting as its CEO before selling it to AT&T for $50 billion in 1999.

Who owns the biggest house? ›

Who is the owner of the biggest house in the world ? Istana Nurul Iman Palace, the official residence of the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, is the largest house in the world, spread over 2.15 million square feet.

How many houses do billionaires have? ›

The world's richest people owned on average about four homes in 2022.

Which country has the richest houses? ›

1. Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom
Estimated value:$4.9 billion
Location:London, UK
Owner:King Charles III, in right of the British Crown
May 12, 2023

How many empty houses are there in the world? ›

The whole world is undergoing a housing shortage, but vacant homes are barely budging. The OECD's latest data drop shows 42 million of its 426 million homes are vacant.

How much income do you need to buy a $650000 house? ›

To determine whether you can afford a $650,000 home you will need to consider the following 4 factors. Based on the current average for a down payment, and the current U.S. average interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage you would need to be earning $126,479 per year before taxes to be able to afford a $650,000 home.

Is it smarter to rent or buy? ›

Buying a house gives you ownership, privacy and home equity, but the expensive repairs, taxes, interest and insurance can really get you. Renting a home or apartment is lower maintenance and gives you more flexibility to move. But you may have to deal with rent increases, loud neighbors or a grumpy landlord.

How many houses does the average American own in a lifetime? ›

In fact, the average person will own at least three houses in their lifetime. Living in one place for most of your life may or may not be your goal, but if it is, there are things you must do as a homeowner to ensure your home lasts as long as you'd like it to.

Can houses last 100 years? ›

You can count on a well-constructed house to last a lifetime — maybe even a century or longer. Some of the components that make up a house, however, tend to have shorter lifespans, and need repair or replacement to endure the test of time.

How many years will a house last? ›

The average lifespan of a newly constructed house is 70–100 years. Factors such as weak housing materials and damaging weather exposure can shorten a home's lifespan. Routine repair and maintenance can improve the longevity of a home.

What will housing look like in 100 years? ›

Personal homes will be almost fully independent of a dangerously overtaxed energy grid. One hundred years in the future, our houses will be, in almost all respects, semi-living, artificial organisms—closed systems with a metabolism, sensory apparatus, immune response, and an approximation to a nervous system.

What places will be unlivable by 2050? ›

10 Breathtaking Countries That Will Be Uninhabitable by 2050 Because of Climate Change
  • The Maldives.
  • Kiribati.
  • Vanuatu.
  • Solomon Island.
  • Tuvalu.
  • Samoa.
  • Fiji Island.
  • Nauru.

Are houses getting bigger? ›

The median home size for newly constructed houses has increased by 150% since 1980. While houses are getting larger, the median household size has decreased by 16% since 1940.

What will happen to cars in 2050? ›

By 2050, there will be about 3 billion light-duty vehicles on the road worldwide, up from 1 billion now. At least half of them will be powered by internal combustion engines (ICE), using petroleum-based fuels.

Can multiple people own the same house in New World? ›

Settlement Housing 101

Multiple players can acquire the same physical home location, but they will always see their own property and décor unless they are visiting another player's house.

How many houses can you build with a billion dollars? ›

The national average price of a home, say the feds, is $525,000. If you had $1 billion, by my calculations, you could buy about 1,900 average houses. That's more than one person could live in, presumably, but you could give houses to all your friends and family and still have houses left over for bare acquaintances.

What is a house with 2 floors called? ›

A duplex house is a residential building constructed on two floors. It has a single dining room and a single kitchen. Duplex house design has a common central wall and consists of two living units, either side-by-side or on two floors, with separate entries.

Is 1st floor the 2nd floor? ›

In American English, the floor which is level with the ground is called the first floor, the floor above it is the second floor, and so on.

What should be on the first floor of a house? ›

Having a primary bedroom on the first floor is ideal for aging in place and being able to remain comfortably in your home without having to constantly go up and down the stairs. It allows you easy and safe access to the rooms you'll use every day (kitchen, family room, laundry, garage).

What is a house with no stairs called? ›

Bungalows are very convenient for the homeowner in that all living areas are on a single story and there are no stairs between living areas. A bungalow is well suited to persons with impaired mobility, such as the elderly or those in wheelchairs.

What's a small house called? ›

cottage. nountiny house; lodging. box. bungalow. cabana.

What is smaller than a mansion? ›

McMansions are constructed of cheap materials and have a hacked-together appearance. They may also be smaller than the traditional mansion, usually measuring in at 3,000 to 5,000 square feet.

What is the end of a house called? ›

Box End. Box ends of a home are located at the gables, generally where the siding and roof line meet. They create a better appearance and seal in the areas where the siding and roof meet.

What is a house in a backyard called? ›

Chances are, as a California resident, you've heard of backyard houses before, though you may not have heard them referenced under that name. The legal and regulatory name for backyard houses is accessory dwelling unit, or ADU.

What is the upside down house called? ›

Trassenheide, Germany – This simple house is called “Die Welt Steht Kopf in Trassenheide,” which translates to, “The World is Upside Down.” Inside, all the furniture looks like it's upside down.

Who owns the $75 million dollar house? ›

The seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom, prime-Beverly Hills-location home is the brainchild of developer Adnan Sen, who has also become a reality presence in his own right. The house, which is still available and listed on The Oppenheim Group website, has become an internet sensation.

Which celebrity has biggest house? ›

1. Bill Gates' $125million house. After seven years in the making, Bill Gates' mega-mansion 'Xanadu 2.0', takes the top spot at a whopping $125 million!

What is the richest house in us? ›

The One, Beverly Hills, California—$126 Million

The One, yes that one—the colossal, incomplete, 105,000-square-foot Bel Air mansion commissioned in 2012 by controversial developer Nile Niami that went into receivership in 2021 due to over $165 million in unpaid debt—was sold to the highest bidder this year.

What percentage of Americans rent? ›

(According to the Pew Research Center, about 36 percent of American households rented, rather than owned, their homes in 2019, the last year that reliable data was available from the Census Bureau.) Moody's first started tracking the metric in 1999, when the typical rent-to-income ratio was 22.5 percent.

What family owns the most real estate? ›

1. EMMERSON FAMILY. The nation's largest private landowners, California's Emmerson family, are a prime example of this trend. Through their Sierra Pacific Industries, the Emmersons increased their landholdings by more than 100 square miles to over 2.4 million acres.

How many Americans own land? ›

64% of Americans own real estate. 35% of the American population does not own their own homes.

Which is the smallest house? ›

Muma Hut is one of the smallest houses in the world, built through voluntary efforts in an orchard in the Old Village of Armenia in Romania, inviting guests who want to experience nature both outside and inside the cottage with an audacious window onto the landscape.

Who owns 295 million dollar house? ›

The One cost Saghian far more than his other homes, but his winning bid was less than half the property's $295-million list price.

How many houses in the US are empty? ›

Sixteen million homes currently sit vacant across the U.S. In every state across the country, many homes remain empty while hundreds of thousands of Americans face homelessness.

How many people have more than 1 house? ›

Second home ownership statistics show that 6.02% of individuals aged 30–49 own a second home. This age group has a higher second home ownership percentage than those aged 18–29 and 50–64, whose rates are 4.68% and 4.13%, respectively.

How many houses per person in the US? ›

Table
Population
Households, 2017-2021124,010,992
Persons per household, 2017-20212.60
Living in same house 1 year ago, percent of persons age 1 year+, 2017-202186.6%
Language other than English spoken at home, percent of persons age 5 years+, 2017-202121.7%
54 more rows

What is the world population 2023? ›

The projected world population on Jan. 1, 2023, is 7,942,645,086, an increase of 73,772,634, or 0.94%, from New Year's Day 2022. During January 2023, 4.3 births and 2.0 deaths are expected worldwide every 1 second.

What city has the most abandoned houses in USA? ›

The three most vacant cities in the U.S. are all in Florida: Orlando, Miami, and Tampa. These cities are known for tourism and vacation homes, which means houses sit vacant for much of the year.

Does U.S. have house shortage? ›

As a result, there is a sizable shortage of new homes after more than a decade of under-building relative to population growth, according to a new analysis from Realtor.com released Wednesday. The gap between single-family home constructions and household formations grew to 6.5 million homes between 2012 and 2022.

Can an American buy a house in Japan? ›

In Japan, unlike other countries, there are no restrictions for foreigners based on whether or not they have permanent resident status, Japanese nationality, or based on their visa type. This means that foreigners are allowed to own both land and buildings in Japan as real estate properties.

How many Americans own 2 houses? ›

How Many Homes in the U.S. are Second Homes? Through our analysis we found that there are at least 2.64 million second homes in the U.S. that are for seasonal, recreational, or occasional use. How many homes are there in the United States?

What percent of Americans own a home? ›

Top Home Ownership Statistics In America: 65.8% of Americans own a home as of 2022. Some 74 million Americans, or about 27%, live in a condo or HOA property. 58.4 percent of the housing units were owner-occupied.

How many people in the US have more than one house? ›

Among them, those who own more than two houses accounted for 2.32 million, up 36,000 from the previous year (2.284 million).

Who owns the most houses in the US? ›

John Malone is the largest private landowner in the United States. Malone made his fortune as a media tycoon, building the company Tele-Communications, Inc, or TCI, and acting as its CEO before selling it to AT&T for $50 billion in 1999.

What percentage of Americans own their home with no mortgage? ›

Yet no-mortgage owners in California are only 33% of all homeowners – and only four places have a smaller share: D.C. at 24%, Maryland at 28% and Colorado and Utah at 30%.

How many people can Earth support? ›

Earth's capacity

Many scientists think Earth has a maximum carrying capacity of 9 billion to 10 billion people.

How many females in the world? ›

Gender ratio in the World

As of 2021, There are 3,970,238,390 or 3,970 million or 3.97 billion males in the world, representing 50.42% of the world population. The population of females in the world is estimated at 3,904,727,342 or 3,905 million or 3.905 billion, representing 49.58% of the world population.

How many people died in the world? ›

About 60 million people die every year.

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