BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 19. The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has presented the "World Cities Report 2026," Trend reports.
The report highlights the key challenges and solutions related to the global housing crisis, urbanization, and affordable housing provision.
According to the new UN report, approximately 40% of the world's population, or 3 billion people, face an affordable housing crisis, resulting in unaffordable prices, housing shortages, low-quality living conditions, and limited access to basic municipal urban services such as water and sanitation.
The report notes that cities expect to accommodate an additional 2 billion residents by 2050. This will place an extra burden on housing systems that already confront growing challenges due to rapid urbanization, rising land prices, deepening social inequality, and the impacts of climate change.
At the same time, climate-related hazards are projected to render 167 million residential homes uninhabitable by 2040. The report notes that natural disasters resulted in $280 billion in damages in 2023, with a large share of these losses remaining uninsured.
According to statistical data as of the end of 2024, the number of forcibly displaced people reached 123.2 million, which is double the figure from the previous decade.
Over the last 20 years, an additional 64 million people faced displacement from informal settlements. The majority of forcibly displaced persons turn to cities, entering refugee or internally displaced person (IDP) camps, and often have to settle in hazardous or substandard living conditions where they face additional risks of displacement. In developing countries, informal housing accounts for approximately 80% of residential civil construction.
According to conducted research, the shortage of decent and affordable housing increased by 30% in just over a decade, surpassing 268 million units, while 1.1 billion people still live in informal settlements.
In many regions, housing prices grew faster than incomes; globally, the price-to-income ratio rose from 9.3 in 2010 to 11.2 in 2023, while in Central and Southern Asia, this indicator reached 16.8. In 2023, only 25.5% of individuals worldwide applying for a housing loan successfully secured credit. In parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, where housing mortgage markets remain in the initial stages of development, this indicator stood at a mere 1%.
Globally, 44% of families spend more than 30% of their income on housing expenses. The unaffordability of rental housing is most visible in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 55% of tenants find themselves under a heavy financial burden. Internal financial mechanisms at national, regional, and local governance levels must target demand- and supply-oriented subsidy mechanisms more efficiently to bridge these affordability gaps.
The document released today by UN-Habitat, titled "World Cities Report 2026: The Global Housing Crisis – Pathways to Action," emphasizes that the global housing crisis bears a multidimensional character driven by structural factors. The report shows that the manifestations of the crisis deepen further as a result of demographic shifts, environmental pressures, and changing economic conditions. This process worsens numerous challenges, including inequality, poverty, and vulnerability to climate shocks.
However, the "World Cities Report 2026" also emphasizes that the housing crisis can undergo resolution. The report notes that treating informal settlements as an unresolvable problem is no longer correct, since these forms of housing have become widespread across many cities. It is necessary to eliminate these instances, abandon containment policies, and instead evaluate informal housing as a potential vehicle for improving livelihoods and resolving the housing crisis.
The report simultaneously brings to the forefront the importance of expanding domestic financial mechanisms at national, regional, and local government levels, as well as more effectively targeting supply-side and demand-side subsidy structures to overcome affordability gaps.
In this regard, the report calls for a significant increase in public investments directed toward social and affordable housing provision, while simultaneously stimulating private sector investments that boost supply, particularly in the affordable housing segment.
Community participation and co-execution mechanisms, with a special focus on the inclusivity of marginalized groups, receive evaluation as essential elements of decent housing provision, both during the policy formulation phase and within projects designed and executed alongside residents. This approach envisages the active involvement of communities in this process during both the pre-settlement and post-settlement phases.
"There is a need for a new social contract on decent and affordable housing provision, meaning a sense of shared responsibility must form among governments, the private sector, and communities to attract investment and align the socio-economic functions of housing provision," Anaclaudia Rossbach, Executive Director of UN-Habitat, stated.
The publication of the report coincides with the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), a leading global conference on sustainable urbanization that commenced in Baku on May 17.
The third day of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13) is underway in Baku.
On the first day, a ministerial meeting dedicated to the New Urban Agenda, a roundtable of ministers, assemblies of women and civil society, business sessions, and discussions on urban well-being were held. A ceremony for raising the flags of the United Nations and Azerbaijan also took place within the framework of the forum.
The second day of the forum drew attention with the first-ever Leaders Summit. High-level discussions on the global housing crisis, urbanization policy, and urban resilience were held that day. At the same time, the Mexico City pavilion was inaugurated within the framework of WUF13. The pavilion was presented as an important platform for expanding cooperation with the Latin American region and preparing for WUF14.
WUF13, which has attracted more than 40,000 registered participants from 182 countries, will continue until May 22. Held under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities,” the forum brings together governments, international organizations, experts, and representatives of civil society to strengthen global cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development.
