This area is included to provide some figures for comparisons – how big regular houses are, how much living space per capita people actually have, and may be used to have.
- Around 75 m2 (800 ft2) per person i North America (72 m2 / 779 ft2 in Canada, 77 m2 / 832 ft2 in US) – and that is a lot for most people around the rest of the world, and up towards twice as much space per person compared to European averages…
- 30-45 m2 (323-484 ft2) / person averages in Europe
Of course, averages on this high level (whole countries) are rather pointless, with ridiculous differences depending on (e.g.) living in an apartment on Manhattan in New York City or out on a ranch in rural Texas.
Average house size by country
How big is a house? Average house size by country – shrinkthatfootprint.com/how-big-is-a-house
Country | house, m2 | house, sq.ft. | m2/capita | SF/capita |
---|---|---|---|---|
Australia | 214 | 2303 | 89 | 960 |
United States | 201 | 2164 | 77 | 832 |
Canada | 181 | 1948 | 72 | 779 |
Denmark | 137 | 1475 | 65 | 702 |
Greece | 126 | 1356 | 45 | 484 |
France | 112 | 1206 | 43 | 464 |
Germany | 109 | 1173 | 55 | 587 |
Spain | 97 | 1044 | 35 | 373 |
Japan | 95 | 1023 | 35 | 379 |
Sweden | 83 | 893 | 40 | 425 |
Italy | 81 | 872 | 31 | 335 |
United Kingdom | 76 | 818 | 33 | 356 |
China* | 60 | 646 | 20 | 215 |
Russia | 57 | 614 | 22 | 237 |
Hong Kong | 45 | 484 | 15 | 161 |
* China figures urban only
More from the article:
“If Graham Hill lives by himself then his trendy 39 m2 (420 ft2) is similar to someone from Sweden. In fact in the range from 30-45 m2 (323-484 ft2) are the averages for Italy, the UK, Japan, Spain, Sweden, France and Greece.
At our place we have 110 m2(1,184 ft2) for a family of four, which is 27 m2 (291 ft2) per person. Having previously lived in a few different flats of 50-60 m2 as a couple this feels pretty palatial, and is certainly more than enough for us. But 30 m2 per person is much more generous in a four person family than it is in a studio apartment for one.
In London they have a new minimum space standard as part of the London Plan. For new flats the minimum standards are 37 m2 (398 ft2) for one person, 50 m2 (538 ft2) for two people in one bedroom, 61 m2 (657 ft2) for three people with two bedrooms, 70 m2 (753 ft2) for four people in two bedrooms and 74 m2 (797 ft2) for four people in three bedrooms. Are these enough space?”
- AMERICANS HAVE MUCH MORE LIVING SPACE THAN EUROPEANS, 03/11/2019 – mises.org/power-market/americans-have-much-more-living-space-europeans
- Our living spaces are bigger than ever. But not for the reason you think, 03/30/2020 – fastcompany.com/90483458/our-living-spaces-are-bigger-than-ever-but-not-for-the-reason-you-think
- Living conditions in Europe – housing quality – ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/pdfscache/67027.pdf
- google.com/search?q=average+living+space+per+person+by+country