5. Is the number of homeless people equal in all Western countries

It is difficult to compare the number of homeless across borders, even in Western countries. Conditions vary in each country, and few countries make serious attempts at counting their numbers of homeless people.
In Denmark, we have statistical data on how many people are using the official shelter services for homeless. This number shows a relatively stable 8,000 people. This gives us an indication of the number of homeless people using the shelter services, but the figures cannot be used to compare countries, since services for homeless people vary from country to country.
Some countries place more emphasis on helping homeless people to get a proper home of their own than establishing shelters; or they leave people to sleep on the streets. The overall estimate of the number of homeless people in Western countries lies, however, between 0.2 to 0.8 per cent of the entire population.

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