New Zealand ranks 14th for the highest proportion of empty homes around the world

PHOTO: Empty homes

Homelessness is undoubtedly a huge global problem. With an estimated 100 million people currently homeless, the fact there are millions of homes around the world lying empty is even more shocking.

To find out which countries are the worst offenders when it comes to leaving properties vacant, the mortgage experts at money.co.uk have analysed OECD data to reveal the countries where empty properties make up the biggest proportion of the total housing.

You can view the full research here: https://www.money.co.uk/mortgages/empty-homes

The top 20 countries with the most empty homes

Rank	Country	Total homes	Vacant homes	Vacant homes (% of total homes)
1	Japan	62,420,000	8,460,100	13.6%
2	Cyprus	455,410	56,851	12.5%
3	Hungary	4,455,491	550,113	12.3%
4	United States	139,684,000	15,549,000	11.1%
4	Brazil	71,015,000	7,906,767	11.1%
6	Finland	3,076,000	330,000	10.7%
6	Chile	6,486,533	695,199	10.7%
8	Slovenia	852,181	89,728	10.5%
9	Australia	10,562,800	1,039,879	9.8%
10	Ireland	2,003,645	183,312	9.1%
11	Canada	15,412,443	1,340,364	8.7%
12	France	39,806,000	3,085,000	7.8%
13	Poland	14,439,777	1,038,220	7.2%
14	New Zealand	1,884,300	125,400	6.7%
15	Colombia	14,245,482	879,395	6.2%
16	Denmark	2,900,000	170,000	5.9%
17	Netherlands	7,966,000	344,000	4.3%
18	Switzerland	4,469,498	72,294	1.6%
19	Iceland	140,600	2,177	1.5%
20	England	24,414,000	225,845	0.9%

The country with the most vacant homes in the world is Japan, with 13.6% of all homes in the country empty. An ageing population and a decline in birth rate mean that Japan’s population is currently declining and therefore housing demand is falling. The second-home tax may also be putting people off inheriting any relatives’ properties, due to hefty fees.

Coming in second is Cyprus, home to 56,851 empty dwellings, which accounts for 1 in 8 homes on the Mediterranean island. Many of the empty homes are located in the ‘ghost town’ of Varosha, a previous tourist hotspot that has since been abandoned after the country was invaded in 1974.

Another country with a high level of empty homes is Hungary, where 12.3% of properties are currently unoccupied. Like Japan, Hungary has both an ageing and declining population.

The study also looked at the countries with the most empty homes compared to the homeless population.

The top 10 countries with the most empty homes compared to homeless population

Rank	Country	Number of homeless	Vacant homes	Vacant homes needed to house homeless population
1	Japan	3,992	8,460,100	0.05%
2	Brazil	101,854	7,906,767	1.29%
3	Colombia	13,252	879,395	1.51%
4	Finland	5,482	330,000	1.66%
5	Hungary	10,068	550,113	1.83%
6	Chile	14,013	695,199	2.02%
7	Poland	30,330	1,038,220	2.92%
8	Ireland	5,873	183,312	3.20%
9	United States	580,466	15,549,000	3.73%
10	Denmark	6,431	170,000	3.78%

Given that Japan had the highest percentage of empty homes, it’s not surprising to see that it’s also the country that could rehome its homeless population the quickest. Japan has a small homeless population (3,992) in comparison to its overall population (>126million), meaning that just 0.05% of its empty homes would be needed to house every homeless person in the country.