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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

The married lawyer caught in a steamy smoochfest with his much younger colleague in Central Park could lose tens of millions of dollars after a lucrative job offer was reportedly rescinded, legal sources told The Post.

The four-time Emmy winner was anchoring the 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. news broadcasts at the time of her suspension.

UK Regulator Targets Data-Center Land-Grab On The Power Grid

Authored by Tsvetana Paraskova via OilPrice.com,

Britain’s energy regulator, Ofgem, on Wednesday launched a consultation on a proposed commitment fee for data center projects as part of broad reforms to ensure network capacity is used for projects that are ready and able to connect.

The proposal includes a new Data Centre Commitment Fee, which would be paid by large data center developments when accepting a connection offer, Ofgem said in a statement.

The fee would be refunded when the project reaches grid connection status and forfeited if the project exits the grid queue early.  The fee would be set within a proposed range of £237,500 to £712,500 per megawatt (MW), equivalent to around 2.5% to 7.5% of average project costs.

“The proposals are aimed at tackling speculative projects from securing scarce network capacity without any firm intention to connect, ensuring the queue enables investment ready, viable projects,” Ofgem said.

Plans for a commitment fee for data centers were drawn up after the UK saw a surge in connection applications in the past two years, driven largely by demand from data center projects.

“Ofgem is concerned that a significant number of projects in the queue may not ultimately proceed, potentially delaying viable developments and creating misleading signals about future network investment needs,” the regulator said.

Last year, Ofgem approved an investment program of $32 billion (£24 billion) to maintain essential gas distribution networks and expand the power grid in a move to boost energy security and allow more renewables to enter the electricity system.

However, demand and applications for connections have soared over the past year, mostly driven by plans for data centers.

“The connections system must work for consumers and for the projects that are ready to invest, build and connect,” said Eleanor Warburton, Ofgem’s Director for Energy System Design and Development.

“Where speculative projects take up space in the queue, they can delay other schemes and create uncertainty about future network needs,” the official added.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 05:00

A dangerous social media trend jokes about getting "Cyclospora skinny," but doctors warn the intestinal parasite causes deadly dehydration and illness.

Australia's internet regulator said on Thursday it had begun legal action against ​messaging platform Telegram over alleged failings to tackle pro-terror posts.

A Louisville high school student was shot dead by a teen gunman – just three months after he was stabbed trying to protect a 12-year-old girl who was being sexually harassed.  Da’Jon Hayes-Burr, 15, died from gunshot wounds after being shot in Shawnee – a neighborhood in western Louisville, Kentucky – on Saturday night, with...

The bizarre snake showdown comes as California faces a surge in rattlesnake activity this year.

A high-ranking Trump Department of Homeland Security official called out the “liberal media” for what he referred to as the “absolute absurdity” of its response to his series criticizing activist judges. James Percival, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, posted a series on X last week, “Worst of the Worst, District Judge Edition.”  In his...

Got Wood? These Are The World's Biggest Lumber Producers

From home construction and renovations to furniture and shipping pallets, lumber is one of the world’s most widely used building materials.

This graphic ranks the world’s biggest lumber producers by sawnwood output in 2024, using data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

The World’s Top 30 Lumber Producers

The United States produced roughly 2.7 billion cubic feet of lumber in 2024, making it the world’s largest producer.

RankCountryCubic Feet (2024)Global Share 1🇺🇸 U.S.2.7B17.0% 2🇨🇳 China2.1B13.7% 3🇷🇺 Russia1.3B8.4% 4🇨🇦 Canada1.2B7.9% 5🇮🇳 India847M5.4% 6🇩🇪 Germany820M5.2% 7🇸🇪 Sweden632M4.0% 8🇫🇮 Finland388M2.5% 9🇧🇷 Brazil344M2.2% 10🇦🇹 Austria343M2.2% 11🇹🇷 Türkiye333M2.1% 12🇯🇵 Japan281M1.8% 13🇫🇷 France271M1.7% 14🇨🇱 Chile249M1.6% 15🇲🇽 Mexico241M1.5% 16🇻🇳 Vietnam203M1.3% 17🇹🇭 Thailand198M1.3% 18🇨🇿 Czechia167M1.1% 19🇧🇾 Belarus162M1.0% 20🇵🇱 Poland148M0.9% 21🇳🇿 New Zealand147M0.9% 22🇷🇴 Romania138M0.9% 23🇦🇺 Australia133M0.8% 24🇦🇷 Argentina132M0.8% 25🇺🇦 Ukraine113M0.7% 26🇬🇧 UK113M0.7% 27🇱🇻 Latvia105M0.7% 28🇳🇴 Norway95M0.6% 29🇪🇸 Spain92M0.6% 30🇮🇩 Indonesia78M0.5% --🌐 World total$15.7B (Market Value)100%

China ranked second with 2.1 billion cubic feet, followed by Russia and Canada. India rounded out the top five with nearly 847 million cubic feet.

Together, the top five producers account for more than half of global lumber output. Their scale reflects extensive forest resources, large sawmill industries, and steady demand from construction and manufacturing.

Europe has a deep bench of major lumber producers, with Germany, Sweden, and Finland leading the region. Sweden and Finland benefit from extensive managed forests and export-oriented sawmill industries, while Germany’s timber resources support its construction and manufacturing sectors.

Austria and France also rank among the world’s top 15, underscoring Europe’s importance to the global lumber supply.

China’s Lumber Industry Has Tripled Since 2004

Although the United States remains the world’s largest producer, China has recorded some of the fastest long-term growth.

Since 2004, the country’s lumber production has more than tripled as rapid urbanization fueled demand for housing, commercial buildings, and infrastructure. China has also become the world’s largest processor and consumer of wood products, supplying everything from furniture to engineered wood used in manufacturing.

A Critical Global Building Material

Lumber demand is closely tied to housing construction, infrastructure spending, and manufacturing activity. As countries continue investing in new buildings and industrial capacity, a relatively small group of producers will remain central to the global wood supply.

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the world’s 4.1 billion hectares of forest by region.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/30/2026 - 04:15

Police said the footage showed an adult male placing the camera inside the room before leaving.

A 2-year-old runaway dog was rescued after spending two days alone and terrified in a dark tunnel in San Francisco on Tuesday.

"Truly embarrassing of the co-owner. Unfortunately shows the type of leader she is."