Asia is home to 60 per cent of the world’s slum dwellers and some of the planet’s most expensive real estate
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenSam Beltranin ManilaPublished: 4:00pm, 12 Apr 2026Hong Kong and Singapore routinely top global rankings of unaffordable cities. Yet it is the residents of Manila, Colombo and Yangon who are far more likely to tell pollsters they cannot afford shelter.The Philippines recorded the world’s highest share of people reporting difficulty affording housing in a new survey from US-based firm Gallup, with 55 per cent saying they had struggled to pay for shelter in the past 12 months.Sri Lanka followed at 54 per cent, Myanmar at 49 per cent and Thailand at 40 per cent.AdvertisementBangladesh, India, South Korea, Nepal, Indonesia and China rounded out the top 10, according to Gallup’s 2025 World Poll, an annual survey covering more than 140 countries and regions.Slums and residential buildings are seen in Mumbai, India, last month. Much of Asia’s existing housing stock fails to meet basic liveability standards. Photo: AFPParadoxically, Taiwan and Hong Kong – where 40 per cent of respondents reported dissatisfaction with the availability of good, affordable housing – recorded some of the lowest shares of residents reporting they actually struggled to pay.
Analysts stress, however, that the Gallup figures capture only self-reported financial strain.
