Homelessness facts and statistics: The numbers you need to know in 2025

Homelessness is a big issue affecting hundreds of thousands of people across the UK and the issue has reached critical levels around the country in 2025.

The cost of living crisis and the housing crisis in the UK means more people are facing homelessness. It’s an issue that should remain at the forefront of our minds as a society, not just when World Homeless Day comes around on 10 October every year.

Despite living in the world’s sixth biggest economy, people are still living with no place to call their home in this country, whether it be sleeping rough, sofa surfing or any other type of homelessness. This injustice must end.

There are ongoing efforts to end homelessness and rough sleeping. 

Labour has promised to build 1.5 million homes and prioritise social rent properties to tackle the housing crisis. Meanwhile, housing secretary Angela Rayner will lead a cross-government unit on tackling homelessness and a long-term homelessness strategy is also set to be published in 2025.

The Scottish government has declared a housing emergency while the Welsh government is also focusing on more social housing to ease its own homelessness crisis.

Meanwhile, London mayor Sadiq Khan promised to end rough sleeping in the city by 2030 before his re-election.

But before you can tackle a problem, you must first learn the scale of the issue. That’s why it is vital that we know the facts and figures about homelessness. Here are the numbers you need to know:

How many people are homeless in the UK? How does the UK compare to other countries?

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. 

That means the UK does not fare well against other developed countries.

John Glenton, executive director of care and support at Riverside housing association, said: “Shamefully, the UK tops the global league table with by far the highest rate of homelessness in the developed world with one in 200 households living in emergency temporary housing.

“It is now crucial to focus on solutions and work with the government to end this national scandal and international embarrassment.”

How many people are homeless in England?

The latest official statistics show 327,950 households were owed support to prevent or relieve homelessness after contacting their council for help in 2024. That’s up 5% on the record-high 310,850 recorded in 2023.

Record numbers of households are living in temporary accommodation in England. A total of 131,140 households were living in temporary accommodation in March 2025 – a record-high and 12% higher than a year ago.

The total number of children living in temporary accommodation has now reached 169,050.

The official rough sleeping snapshot revealed 4,667 people were homeless on England’s streets in autumn 2024 based on single-night counts and estimates by frontline workers and local authorities.

That figure represents a 20% increase in just a year and is just 2% lower than the 2017 peak when 4,751 were recorded as sleeping rough. It’s also 164% higher than in 2010 when the count began.

The London-only Combined Homelessness and Information Network (Chain) figures are considered to be more accurate than the official one-night count. 

The most recent annual count showed 13,231 rough sleepers spotted on London’s streets between April 2024 and March 2025. That’s record high and a 10% increase on the previous year’s total as well as 63% higher than a decade ago.

How many people are homeless in Wales?

The most recent statistics showed more than 13,287 households contacted councils for support with homelessness between April 2024 and March 2025. down 2% annually.

The number of households in temporary accommodation was down 3% to 6,285 households. That means more than 10,000 people are currently housed in temporary accommodation.

An estimated 166 people are sleeping rough in Wales.

The Welsh government working on new legislation with the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Bill looking to move towards preventing homelessness.

How many people are homeless in Scotland?

The most recent annual statistics found there were 34,067 households experiencing homelessness in 2024-25, containing 53,720 people, comprising 38,674 adults and 15,046 children.

The figures howed 2,465 applications to local authorities after at least one member of the households experienced rough sleeping the night before, up 28% from 1,932 applications the year before.

There was also a 6% increase in the number of households living in temporary accommodation, rising to 17,240 – and they spent longer on average in those homes at 238 days, rather than 228 in 2022-23.

Couples with children spent the longest time on average at 386 days, while 10,180 children were growing up in temporary accommodation, which is 1% higher than March 2024 but 2% lower than the 10,360 kids counted in September last year.

But the figures show the number of instances where temporary accommodation has not been offered to households in need has more than doubled since 2023-24, rising from 7,955 to 16,485.

The Scottish government has declared a housing emergency in the country and announced an emergency action plan in September to address the homelessness crisis. 

Maeve McGoldrick, head of policy and communications for Crisis Scotland, said: “These figures are proof of a homelessness system at breaking point. It’s particularly worrying to see such a large rise in people being forced to sleep rough on the street – we know how dangerous that can be.

“People are entering the homelessness system and getting trapped there, while more and more local authorities are breaching their own legal duties. It’s now obvious that, when it comes to turning around rising levels of homelessness, short-term solutions just won’t cut it.

“We know how to tackle and ultimately end homelessness in Scotland. That means building significantly more social homes, so supply meets growing demand. And it means reforming our public services to support people much earlier on, helping households to keep their home. We know this is possible – we just need a long-term, bold and strategic plan that ends homelessness in Scotland for good – and crucially, the political will to make this happen.”

How many women are sleeping rough in the UK?

Women are often missing from rough sleeping counts because they tend to be less visible than male rough sleepers due to the risk of violence on the streets. That means women are more likely to seek shelter in cafes, transport hubs or other places rather than bedding down outside.

A coalition of homelessness and women’s organisations in London joined forces to tackle the issue in October 2022. Their first national census across England found the number of people sleeping rough could be as much as 10 times higher than the official rough sleeping count.

How does homelessness affect health?

Three quarters of people experiencing homelessness quizzed in a 2014 Homeless Link survey reported a physical health problem.

Meanwhile, 80% of respondents reported some form of mental health issue, while 45% had been officially diagnosed with a condition

Around 40% said they take drugs or are recovering from a drug problem, while 27% have or are recovering from an alcohol problem.

A total of 35% had been to A&E and 26% had been admitted to hospital in the six months before they took part in the survey.

Homeless Link research, published in July 2025, found that the number of accommodation services for people experiencing homelessness across England has fallen by almost half since 2008.

The homelessness sector is increasingly accommodating people with more complex health needs too.

Accommodation providers saw an 83% rise in people with mental health needs while there was an 87% rise at day services, which support people who are rough sleeping and facing the most extreme forms of homelessness.

Meanwhile, a lack of funding meant 81% of accommodation providers have turned someone away because their support needs were too high to manage safely.

Rick Henderson, chief executive of Homeless Link, said: “The wider crisis in public service funding and capacity has seen the homelessness sector become the last line of defence – a shadow health and social care sector expected to support high and increasing numbers of people with an ever-growing complexity of needs.”

What do people think about homelessness?

Four out of five Brits think that homelessness is a serious problem, according to an Ipsos poll for the Centre for Homelessness Impact at the end of 2024.

The poll, which quizzed 2,142 people on their views on homelessness, found 70% of those surveyed agreed that homelessness doesn’t get enough attention in society.

Most people – around two-thirds – believe that homelessness will increase in the UK over the next 12 months while barely a quarter think homelessness can be ended and twice as many think homelessness is inevitable.

But 79% of Brits told pollsters that identifying people who might be at risk of homelessness earlier, such as in health and education, would make a difference.

Ligia Teixeira, chief executive of the Centre for Homelessness Impact, said: “These survey results highlight the pressing need for bold, preventative action to address homelessness. With over half the public supporting investment in prevention and 75% calling for affordable housing and stronger government guarantees, the message is unmistakable: prevention and structural solutions must take centre stage if we’re to break the cycle of homelessness for good.

“While the numbers reveal the scale of the challenge, they also reflect a shared belief in the power of prevention and systemic change. This is a call to action for all of us – government, communities, and individuals – to work together to ensure everyone has access to a safe, stable home.”

A further Ipsos poll from St Mungo’s found more than half of Brits believe there will always be significant levels of homelessness in the UK. 

Pollsters found that the main reason people have not given their support to others facing homelessness came down to a lack of cash, food or clothes to donate. That was the case for 29% of adults, while 23% said there is no point in supporting people experiencing homelessness because they feel it won’t make a difference.

St Mungo’s urged people to donate to a homelessness organisation, volunteer or campaign around social issues to help people into longer-term accommodation.

The poll found just 3% of those surveyed volunteered at local shelters or food banks in the last 12 months while 2% said they had advocated for policy change to prevent homelessness.

What is hidden homelessness?

Hidden homelessness is the term used to describe people who do not have a permanent home and instead stay with friends or family.

Also known as sofa surfing, many people in this situation may not consider themselves homeless and may not seek support from services. This makes it difficult to know exactly how many people are homeless, especially as they are not on the streets like rough sleepers and, therefore, not visible to frontline homelessness outreach workers.

Homelessness charity Crisis has estimated that as many as 62% of single homeless people do not show up on official figures and run the risk of slipping through the cracks.

The Office for National Statistics carried out a review into the scale of hidden homelessness across the UK in March 2023 but statisticians noted that the available information means “it is not currently possible to estimate the true scale of hidden homelessness across the UK”.

However, the review showed that hidden homelessness could take many forms: whether it be sofa surfing, living in unconventional structures like mobile homes or outbuildings, squatting or overcrowded accommodation.

The review also showed that women, young people and ethnic minority groups are more likely to find themselves affected by hidden homelessness.

How do most people who are homeless die?

Nearly one in three people die from treatable conditions, according to a 2019 University College London study. Researchers warned that more preventative work was needed to protect physical health and long-term condition management, especially for more common conditions such as cardiovascular disease.

Homeless deaths have only been counted in recent years. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s pioneering Dying Homeless project counted the deaths of 796 people in 18 months before handing over the project to the Museum of Homelessness in March 2019.

MOH’s count recorded more than 1,400 deaths across the UK in 2023 – that represented a representing a 12% increase on 2022.

“People are dying on the street at terrifying rates,” warned MoH co-director Matt Turtle. “The only way to tackle this emergency is with an increase in support for off the street accommodation, like winter shelters.

“The systems of care for people living with poverty and homelessness are in tatters after 15 years of cuts and corruption. Labour has not yet set out plans to mitigate the damage caused by the last government and our analysis indicates things are set to get much grimmer unless the government acts now to save lives.”

• How does homelessness differ for women?
• How do people become homeless?
• What should you do if you see a homeless person?

MOH used a combination of freedom of information requests, local news reports and submissions from the public to produce a count covering all kinds of homelessness, ranging from rough sleeping to people living in hostels and temporary accommodation. That method differs from the official counts where death certificates are analysed for signs a person died without a stable home.

The first official Office for National Statistics figures for England and Wales arrived three months before the end of TBIJ’s project, reporting 597 estimated deaths in 2017. The most recent count reported 688 people died without a secure home in 2020 with Covid accounting for just 13 deaths.

The ONS consulted on plans to discontinue homeless deaths statistics in early 2024 – citing concerns over accuracy – but ultimately U-turned following calls for the figures to remain.

The first-ever official homeless deaths count in Scotland arrived in 2020 using a similar methodology to the ONS.

The National Records of Scotland’s latest count found an estimated 242 homeless deaths in Scotland in 2023 – down by just two deaths on the previous year.

Crisis chief executive Matt Downie said: “These figures should represent a wake-up call for politicians of every party. Behind every one of these figures is a real person –someone robbed of their potential. These people formed a part of our communities and they will be missed.

“Yet, the sad truth is that in many cases, these deaths will have been avoidable. Each year, more people are forced into homelessness, often trapped for long periods in emergency accommodation. We know how much damage that can do to your health.

“But it doesn’t need to be this way. We urgently need the Scottish government and opposition to press on with plans to prevent homelessness from happening in the first place.”

How can we end homelessness?

Homelessness is a complex issue and, as a result, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

It takes effort to remove the reason why someone is homeless and also treatment for the trauma and mental toll of homelessness.

More broadly, there also needs to be efforts to address the systemic drivers of homelessness and that also takes political will to focus the sufficient resources in the areas where they will make a difference.

Homelessness experts, charities and organisations propose plenty of changes to how society operates to end homelessness for good. That includes tackling drivers of homelessness evictions from private rental homes, benefits that don’t keep pace with inflation and unaffordable housing. Other solutions, like Housing First, are aimed at helping people off the streets.

You can keep the pressure on the politicians too by writing to your local MP, AM or MSP urging them to keep ending homelessness top of the agenda in parliament.

You can also give your time or money to volunteer and donate to help homeless charities doing vital work to help and house people affected by homelessness. There are tons of ways to help a homeless person, even just by donating your coat to help out in winter – cold temperatures are particularly dangerous for rough sleepers.

If you see a person experiencing homelessness on the street in England and Wales, you can contact Streetlink to connect them with support services.

• How many people are homeless in the UK? And what can you do about it?
• How many empty homes are there in the UK?

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