The tiny homes movement gaining traction in the United States seems like spatial extremism to some people – what average family could possibly get by in under 1000 square feet? It turns out that in some countries, that amount is actually already above average.

The above infographic (shown in metric above for our audiences abroad, but also in square feet at the bottom of this page) illustrates just how unusual the situation is in America. Outside of Australia, coming in near second and itself a land with a very low population density, homes in the US are huge.

And this is not a historic constant for the United States either – it represents a huge uptick in average square footage over the past few decades, in which homeowners have demanded (or been sold) the idea of a larger home.

Keep in mind that these are averages – so for all of those large homes skewing the data upward, there are likely some ultra-small spaces bringing the overall data back down. Infographics and information via Urban OmnibusBBC and Apartment Therapy.