Why is home ownership in China twice as high as in the West?

The reason why China has such high home ownership is due to its communist-socialist system, that no land can be privately owned. Every square centimeter of China is owned by the people, through the government, state-owned enterprises and public entities.

Not owning any private land, Chinese homeowners have a renewable 70-year lease instead. China has the world’s highest home ownership level, 90%. By comparison, 66% of Americans and 70% of Brits do. Seventy percent of Chinese millennials (19-36 years old) own their houses. Millennials in the West rank in the 30-40% range, half as much as China. China also has the highest level of “free and clear” ownership, meaning they have no loan on the homes, at 75% of all homes owned. This is again, about twice as much as the USA’s 37% and 30% for Britain.

A report just came out that China’s people-powered ownership of all land has boosted its economy by 36%! Nonetheless, it is not for everyone. Besides China, I can only identify DPRK (North Korea) in the same category. I understand that Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan are like their neighbor, China. Socialist Cambodia tried it, the people didn’t like it, so they went back to private land ownership.

China’s land ownership system is clearly unique and far outside the mainstream around the world. However, for the average citizen, it clearly works well long term.