Rent or buy? These countries have the most renters vs. homeowners

An overview of Thun Castle in Switzerland.
Switzerland is a firmly rental society - where around two-thirds didn't own their homes in 2020/2021.Image: Unsplash/Daniel Vogel
  • A report by the Statista Global Consumer Survey shows how many people rent or buy accommodation in different countries.

  • Switzerland and Germany are firmly rental societies, where around two-thirds didn't own their homes in 2020/2021.

  • It's a very different story in China and Russia where property ownership is very much the norm.

Location is famously everything when it comes to real estate, but as data from the Statista Global Consumer Survey shows, it's not just the price which is affected by where property is located. As this infographic shows, there are stark differences between countries when it comes to the share of people that rent or own their homes.

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Switzerland and Germany are firmly rental societies, where around two-thirds didn't own their homes in 2020/2021. It's a very different story in China and Russia where property ownership is very much the norm - 83 and 87 percent of the adults surveyed by Statista said they own their current home.

Switzerland and Germany are firmly rental societies.Image: Statista
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