Countries With The Highest Homeless Population In The World: Issue of homelessness is a major issue in the world. Homelessness can be defined as people who live in a regular residence because of the lack of housing safety and availability. This definition is from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The United Nations Economic and Social Council statement has a wider definition and has defined homelessness as a situation where housing is being discussed but not about the four walls of a roof.

A person’s right to adequate housing is about the security of tenure affordability and access to services and cultural adequacy. It also goes to protect one from unlawful or forced eviction and displacement, fighting homelessness and poverty. The Indians defined ‘homeless‘ as people who do not live in a house (Census houses), instead, they live in staircases, streets, churches, temples, pipes, open spaces, etc.

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Top 10 Countries With The Highest Homeless Population Rate In The World 2022

1. Nigeria: Nigeria is a country in West Africa officially known as the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is located geographically between the Sahel in the North, and the Gulf of Guinea, in the south of the Atlantic Ocean. It is measured to be about 923,769 km2 with a total population of 218 million persons. Nigeria shares its boundary with Niger to the north, Chad to the northeast, Cameroon to the east, and Benin to the west.

It is the most populated country in Africa and the sixth most populated country in the world. Abuja is the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria but its largest city is the city and the state of Lagos one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world and the second largest in Africa. Nigeria faces housing displacement as a lot of people live on the streets, in uncompleted buildings and the like. The homeless population per night in Nigeria is about 24,400,000 and this data was gotten in 2007.

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2. Egypt: The country Egypt officially known as the Arab Republic of Egypt is a transcontinental country which crossed into North West Asia from South West Africa through a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. The country has common boundaries with Israel in the north-east, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan in the south, the Mediterranean Sea in the North and finally Libya to the west.

The Gulf of Aqaba separates Egypt from Jordan and Saudi Arabia discuss is located in the northeast area of Egypt. The capital and largest city in Egypt is Cairo, however the second largest city Alexandria is the most important industrial and tourist hub of the country and on the Mediterranean coast. In the world, it ranked as the 14th most populated country.

Homelessness is not an issue that is being ignored by the people of Egypt as it is a very significant social issue affecting about 12 million people in the country. It is so diverse that 1,200 areas have been designated for irregular Dwellings by people who do not have a comfortable place of living oh a standard living law therefore these people build shelters for themselves.

According to UNICEF, there are about 1 million people who are homeless in Egypt. The government has refused to take out the real meaning of homelessness in the country going to the fact that if this is done more people be considered homeless and the government will be faced with difficulties.

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3. Indonesia: Officially known as the Republic of Indonesia, Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia that shares its borders with the ocean, between India and the Pacific Ocean. It has about 17,000 Islands which include Java, Sumatra, Sulawesi etc. It is the largest archipelagic state in the world and by area, it is the 14th largest with a land mass of 1,904,569 square kilometres and a population of more than 275 million people.

It is the fourth most populated country in the world and the most populated country with a Muslim-majority. Java the most populated Island in the world and the most populated in Indonesia, it is home to more than half of the country’s total population. Owing to the country’s population and availability of housing homelessness is on the rise with about 3 million homeless people per day this is based on the data collected in 2004.

4. China: Officially known as the People’s Republic of China, China is a country that is located in East Asia and guess what it is the world’s most populated country with a population of more than 1.4 billion people. The country cuts across five geographical time zone and share a common boundary with 14 countries making it the second country in the world to share the most boundaries with other countries after Russia.

With a land mass of 9.6 million square kilometres, it became the world’s fourth largest country. The country is made up of 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 2 special administrative regions and 4 municipalities, with its capital in Beijing, the most populous financial Centre and City in Shanghai.

There are many reasons why citizens of this country are homeless and one of them is caused by natural disasters in 2000 the Yunnan earthquake left 92,000 homeless and 41,000 homes destroyed. Regardless of the number of people who are homeless, this does not include mentally challenged patients as they do not run about in the street of China like in other high-income countries in the world. This is because of migration and family ties coupled with the one-child policy in China. The country’s homeless population per night is measured to be about 257,900 people this data was collected in 2011.

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5. Haiti: Officially known as the Republic of Haiti it was formerly known as Hayti. The country is located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea which is east of Cuba and Jamaica and Bahamas Turks and Caicos Islands in the South. Divide the island Haiti occupies the Western 3/8 of the island which it commonly shared with the Dominican Republic.

Navassa Island is found in the southwest of the country which has always been claimed by Haiti but has been disputed to be a United States territory under its federal administration. It occupies a landmass of 27,750 square kilometres making it the third largest country in the Caribbean area and the population is estimated to be 11.4 million also making it the most populated country in the Caribbean.

The capital city is Port-au-Prince. Its homeless population is estimated to be about 2,300,000 people per night.

6. India: Known officially as the Republic of India, India is a country in South Asia and the second most populated country in the world with a land mass making it the seventh-largest country by area, it is also the most popular democracy in the world.

It has its boundaries with the Indian Ocean, in the south the Arabian ocean in the South West and the Bay of Bengal in the South-East sharing its land borders with Pakistan in the West China Nepal and Bhutan in the North, then Bangladesh and Myanmar in the east. Because of the country’s population and the standard of living and housing, there are a great number of people who are not leaving in houses rather they live in shelters and other places that are not considered a housing facility.

It is the sixth country with the highest number of homeless people in the world with data of 1,777,000 people tonight a data which was collected in 2011.

Furthermore, there is a high proportion of mentally ill and street children in the homeless population. There are 18 million street children in India, the largest number of any country in the world, with 11 million being urban. Finally, more than three million men and women are homeless in India’s capital city of New Delhi.

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7. Zimbabwe: Officially known as the Republic of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe is a country located in southeast Africa caught between Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It shares its borders with South Africa in the south, Botswana in the southwest, Zambia in the North, and Mozambique in the east. The capital of Zimbabwe is Harare and it is also the largest city, with Bulawayo as the second largest city.

The country has a population of about 50 million people with 16 official languages which include English, Shona and Ndebele, these are the most common official languages. Owing to its great prosperity in the early years of Robert Mugabe it was referred to as the “Jewel of Africa”. He has a homeless population of about 1,200,000 persons per night a data collected in 2013.

8. Honduras: Officially known as the Republic of Honduras, the country is located in Central America and it shares its borders with Guatemala in the west, El Salvador in the northwest, Nicaragua in the South East, and the Pacific Ocean to the south at the Gulf of Fonseca and to the North the Gulf of Honduras which is a large inlet of the Caribbean Sea.

Tegucigalpa is the country’s capital and largest city. The country is the eighth country in the world with the highest number of homeless people with about 1 million homeless persons per night a data which was collected in 2013.

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9. Germany: The Federal Republic of Germany as it is officially known is a country in Central Europe, it is the second most populated country in Europe after Russia and the most populated country in the European Union. Germany is located between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea at its northern border and to its southern border the Alps. It has a population of more than 83 million people and a land mass of 357,022.

It shares its borders with Denmark in North Poland and Czech Republic in east Australia and Switzerland in south Belgium, France, Luxembourg, and the  Netherlands in the West. The largest city and the Nation’s capital is Berlin, its financial centre is Frankfort and the country’s largest urban area is Ruhr. The homeless population of the country is estimated to be at 650,000 tonnes per night making it the 9th country with the highest number of homeless people in it. This data was gotten in 2019 and it includes 350,000 refugees in temporary housing or awaiting asylum.

10. United States: Commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, and officially as The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA). It is a transcontinental country which is located in North America it has 50 states a federal district and five major unincorporated territories and 9 outlining Islands with 226 Indian reservations which provides limited sovereignty. It is the third largest country both by land and total area.

Its shares landed border with Canada in the North and Mexico in the south, not excluding the maritime borders which it shares with Russia, Bahamas and Cuba. It has a large population of more than 331 million persons to stop, with all these features it is the third most populated country in the world, New York City is the most populated city and financial centre of the country while Washington DC is the Nation’s capital.

The population of this country is made up of diverse cultures and ethnicities which is a result of centuries of immigration into the country. Being the 10th country in the world with the highest number of homeless people on the streets the United States has a number of 567,715 homeless people per night.

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In conclusion, eradicating the issue of homelessness in the world will prove a difficult task as all fingers are not equal, however, government should take a step towards seeing that few people sleep on the streets.

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka ACMC

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.