Australians are more worried about affording food and shelter than people in many African countries, and are being hit hard by the mass immigration-driven housing crisis, new global research shows.
The first-ever worldwide survey of 107 countries by US polling firm Gallup also fund that young Australians are far more likely to see the economy as their nation’s top problem than older people, mirroring results in other Anglosphere countries.
The problem of affording food or shelter is most prevalent in low income countries, but three high-income countries are also on the list – Ireland in top spot with 49% citing the issue as most important, Australia in third on 29%, and Canada 10th on 16%. The remaining seven countries are all in Africa.
(Gallup)All three countries face well-documented housing crises, with younger adults most likely to say that affording basic needs is the country’s biggest problem,” the Gallup report stated.
“And in all three, satisfaction with the availability of good, affordable housing has declined significantly this decade, falling to 25% across the board in 2025.
“The scale of dissatisfaction with housing in these three countries shows how people’s struggles to afford basic needs like housing may colour their perceptions of the national economy, even in prosperous nations.”
All three countries have opened their borders to record numbers of immigrants since the end of the Covid pandemic, although Canada’s migration policy reversal has seen the North American nation’s housing prices fall, with Toronto’s dipping below $1 million this week for the first time in five years.
Broken down by age, 56% of Australians aged 15-34 said economic issues were the country’s most important problem, along with 58% of the 35-54 age bracket, dropping to 39% for those aged 55 and above.
“In the UK and Australia, the rate of economic concern is heightened among both age groups younger than 55, creating a clear divide between the older population and all others,” the report stated.
The poll results come after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates in response to the latest inflation figures, which saw the consumer price index rise to 3.8% over the past year, and sparking a debate about government spending, which is at its highest level in 30 years outside of the Covid period.
RBA boss Michelle Bullock told a parliamentary committee hearing on Friday cost-of-living pressures were expected to persist until 2028, and said that while federal government spending was a contributing factor in rising inflation she refused to say it was the main cause.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been blamed for the rising inflation, but when shadow treasurer Ted O’Brien was asked by ABC News how the Coalition would make budget savings he avoided the question.
“When we go to the next election, we should be held to account for our own spending priorities,” Mr O’Brien said.
“It is up to us then to identify how we will create savings in the budget.”
Header image: A homeless encampment in Cessnock, NSW, late last year (supplied).
