Hundreds of thousands of British citizens experience homelessness, with recent 2024 estimates for England alone showing over 354,000 people in temporary accommodation or sleeping rough, including 161,000 children, though total UK figures are harder to pin down due to hidden homelessness like sofa surfing, with some charities suggesting the real number across the UK is much higher than official counts.
Homelessness in England, Scotland and Wales (as well as Northern Ireland) is typically measured separately but recent analysis by the FT found that one in every 200 households in the UK is experiencing homelessness.
Nigeria has the world's highest number of homeless people, and although there appears to be a precise number of homeless people, it is impossible to track and quantify those who change their state of “homelessness”.
It happens because there are not enough good quality, truly affordable homes available for people on the lowest incomes. The reasons for homelessness include poverty, systemic inequality and discrimination, and incomes that are failing to keep up with rapidly rising rents and the cost of living.
The highest rates for lifetime literal homelessness were found in the UK (7.7%) and United States (6.2%), with the lowest rate in Germany (2.4%), and intermediate rates in Italy (4.0%) and Belgium (3.4%).
The definition of a home can be similarly flexible, as what constitutes a home in a low-income developing country may be considered unfit in a developed country. Bhutan, Jordan, Liechtenstein, Vatican City: These countries have reported or claimed to have no homeless population on average per day.
And London stands out as a city where the rates of homelessness are very high. Our analysis found that there are 202,587 people who are homeless in London. This is the equivalent of 1 in 45 people and means that London accounts for over half of the total homeless population across England.
A two-penny hangover is not the description of a very cheap night out, nor is it the amount it would cost you to get drunk in Victorian England. It is actually somewhere you could go to sleep if you were one of the thousands of homeless and destitute living in the country's main cities at the time.
Sleeping rough has been a criminal offence since 1824. Under the Vagrancy Act, people sleeping rough in England and Wales could be moved on or fined up to £1,000.
Individual and relational factors apply to the personal circumstances of a person experiencing homelessness, and may include: traumatic events (e.g., house fire or job loss), personal crisis (e.g., family break-up or domestic violence), mental health and addictions challenges (including brain injury and fetal alcohol ...
Cultural norms emphasize family responsibility — many struggling individuals rely on relatives for support before becoming street homeless. The bottom line is that Homelessness in China is real and affects millions, including adults and children.
Homelessness and Age
The average age of adults experiencing homelessness is 45 years. The average age of unaccompanied homeless youth (aged 24 and below) is 18 years. The average age of older adults (aged 50 and above) experiencing homelessness is 66 years.
Hawaii and New York have the highest rates of homelessness across the 50 states. About 771,000 Americans experienced homelessness in January 2024 according to Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) point-in-time data, which measures homelessness across the US on a single night each winter.
Our frontline teams have been delivering support through the No Second Night Out hubs since 2017 and we have seen the difference they have made to thousands of people over that time by providing specialist intervention early to end homelessness quickly and allow people to rebuild their lives.
In England the highest risk of homelessness is experienced by people from Black and Mixed ethnic groups. Asian people in England are more likely to experience 'hidden homelessness', such as living in over-crowded housing or 'doubling up' with other households.
Poverty, unemployment, housing shortages and systemic barriers in welfare support are understood to be significant systemic drivers of rough sleeping. These underlying causes can often be exacerbated by personal vulnerabilities like poor health or substance use.
Lack of social housing: In the UK there is a dearth of social housing, which means Local Authorities do not have enough houses to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Under the Vagrancy Act, it's illegal to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. In fact, people sleeping rough can be punished with a fine of up to £1,000 and a criminal record. Thankfully, in February 2022, the UK government said they would scrap this old law.
Crisis-Level Catastrophe: The UK Surpasses the US in Homelessness. The UK has surpassed the US in homelessness rates, with a lifetime literal homelessness rate of 7.7%, highlighting a severe affordability crisis.
Victorian sleep was defined by segmented sleep, the pattern of enjoying two distinct periods of rest, separated by a quiet interval.
Where did the smell come from? In the 1850s, waste of all types ended up in the River Thames. There was human poo and wee, dead animals, thrown-away food, industrial waste from riverside factories, and the bodies of anyone who drowned. In the streets, manure piled up from the horse-drawn carriages.
The word “hobo” first appeared in the 1880s in western America and softened the public's perceptions of tramps. This culture of migrant laborers was often romanticized in American literature, including by writers such as Walt Whitman, Bret Harte, and Sinclair Lewis.
Black and Native American individuals are more likely to be homeless than are individuals from other racial and ethnic groups. Men and veterans also have higher rates of homelessness than the U.S. average. Homeless people are less likely to be women or under the age of 18.
More than 13,000 people were seen sleeping rough in London in 2024/25 - the highest on record. This is almost 4x higher than 15 years ago, in 2008/2009, and a 10% increase on last year.
Nightstop London is an emergency accommodation service delivered by a local charity and covers London. Nightstop hosts provide a private room, a warm meal and somewhere safe to stay for the night, whilst Nightstop helps to find a permanent solution to a young person's homelessness.