UN-Habitat Report Finds Syria Has World's Least Affordable Housing at 86.7 Years of Income

A United Nations report has identified Syria as having the least affordable housing for homeownership worldwide, with the median house price equivalent to 86.7 years of average annual household income in 2023. The figure comes from the statistical annex of the World Cities Report 2026: The Global Housing Crisis – Pathways to Action, published by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) (unhabitat.org; statistical annex).

The price-to-income ratio measures the median house price divided by median annual household income. It does not indicate the time needed to repay a mortgage but serves as a standard indicator of ownership affordability. An internationally accepted benchmark considers a ratio of roughly three times annual income as affordable, with ratios above five signalling severe unaffordability (UN-Habitat Chapter 3). Syria’s 86.7 ratio is approximately 7.7 times the global average of 11.2 years recorded for 2023, up from a global 9.3 in 2010 (statistical annex; Chapter 3).

According to data in the annex, Syria’s ratio rose sharply over time: 12.0 in 2010, 30.5 in 2015, 60.8 in 2020, and 86.7 in 2023. This places it well above other high-ratio countries such as Sri Lanka at 40.8 and China at 34.6. In the Arab region, Lebanon ranked next at 18.3 years, followed by Algeria (16), Morocco (14.2), Egypt (12), Tunisia (11.9), Kuwait (11.5), Sudan (9.2), Bahrain (8.6), and Iraq (8.1), based on reporting of the findings (hawarnews.com; logos-pres.md).

The report notes that Syria’s extreme ranking does not necessarily indicate the highest absolute property prices in the region. Instead, it primarily reflects the sharp decline in household incomes relative to real estate values following years of conflict, economic collapse, inflation, and damage to the housing stock. UN-Habitat data and related assessments indicate extensive destruction or damage to housing units, high poverty rates (with around 90 percent of the population below the poverty line in recent estimates), and millions requiring shelter support (unhabitat.org Syria page; hawarnews.com).

Globally, the World Cities Report 2026 highlights a deepening housing crisis, with up to 3.4 billion people lacking access to secure, safe, and adequate housing, including more than 1 billion in informal settlements or slums. Nearly 44 percent of renter households worldwide spend more than 30 percent of income on housing. The report estimates that providing adequate and affordable housing will require USD 3–4 trillion in annual global investment through 2030, in addition to maintenance of existing stock (unhabitat.org; hawarnews.com).

In the ownership affordability analysis, nearly 96 percent of countries fall into seriously, severely, or impossibly unaffordable categories. Only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recorded ratios below 3. The report frames housing affordability as central to sustainable urban development, poverty reduction, health, and resilience, calling for expanded supply, better land management, support for vulnerable groups, and stronger institutions (Chapter 3).

For Syria, the data illustrates profound post-conflict barriers to housing recovery and household economic security, as incomes have failed to keep pace with property values amid broader challenges of reconstruction, displacement, and economic revival.