Slums & Informal Settlements
Roughly 1.12 billion people, about 24.8% of the world's urban population, lived in slums or informal settlements in 2022. The share has slowly fallen since 2000, yet the absolute number keeps climbing as cities grow faster than basic services. UN-Habitat warns the total could reach 3 billion by mid-century without major investment.
Key Slums & Settlements Insights
A quarter of urban humanity
In 2022 about 1.12 billion urban residents, 24.8% of the world's city population, lived in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing as measured by SDG indicator 11.1.1.
Share down, count up
The slum share of urban dwellers fell from 28% in 2000 to about 23% in 2014, but the absolute count rose from 689 million in 1990 to over 1.1 billion as cities outpace housing supply.
Africa and Asia dominate
Over 85% of slum dwellers live in just three regions: Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (362M), Central and Southern Asia (334M) and sub-Saharan Africa (265M).
Missing the basics
A settlement counts as a slum when households lack any one of five basics: safe water, adequate sanitation, sufficient living space, durable housing or secure tenure.
Slum Population: Rising Count, Falling Share
The number of slum dwellers has grown from 689 million in 1990 to about 1.12 billion in 2022, even as their share of the urban population eased from 28% in 2000 to roughly 25%.
Key Finding: Absolute slum population keeps rising while the share of urban residents slowly declines.
Share of Urban Population in Slums, by Region
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest slum share at about 53.6% of urban residents, followed by Central and Southern Asia, well above the global average of 24.8%.
Key Finding: Over half of urban sub-Saharan Africans live in slum conditions, more than double the world average.
Slum Dwellers by Region (2022)
In absolute terms, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (362M) and Central and Southern Asia (334M) host more slum dwellers than sub-Saharan Africa (265M), reflecting their huge urban populations.
Key Finding: Three regions account for over 85% of the world's slum dwellers.
The Five UN-Habitat Slum Deprivations
UN-Habitat classifies a household as living in a slum if it lacks any one of five basic conditions, making the measure a count of housing deprivation rather than of poverty alone.
Key Finding: Lacking just one of five basics qualifies a household as a slum household.
Projected Growth Toward 2050
UN-Habitat estimates an additional 2 billion people could live in slums or slum-like conditions over the next three decades, pushing the global total toward 3 billion by mid-century.
Key Finding: The slum population could nearly triple to around 3 billion by 2050 on current trends.
Understanding Slum Data
The five slum deprivations
UN-Habitat defines a slum household as one lacking any one of five conditions: access to improved drinking water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area (no more than three people per room), durable housing on a non-hazardous location, and security of tenure. SDG indicator 11.1.1 broadens this slightly to slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing.
Share versus absolute count
Two numbers move in opposite directions. The share of urban residents in slums fell from about 28% in 2000 to roughly 24.8% in 2022 as upgrading and new infrastructure reached some cities. The absolute count rose from 689 million in 1990 to over 1.1 billion, because urban populations grew faster than adequate housing could be built. Both statements are true at once.
Why definitions and measurement vary
Secure tenure is hard to measure consistently, so many national estimates rely on the other four deprivations from household surveys such as the DMHS and MICS. Survey timing, census years and differing national thresholds mean cross-country figures are not always strictly comparable, and regional totals are modelled where recent surveys are missing.
Caveats and interpretation
Figures here use UN-Habitat and UN SDG estimates, primarily the SDG Report 2024 (2022 data) and the World Cities Report 2022. The 2050 figure is an illustrative projection, not a forecast, and assumes current trends persist. A slum classification reflects housing deprivation, not the income, resilience or community life of residents, many of whom are working and upwardly mobile.