The United Nations estimates that nearly a billion people call slums home.
For some cities, about 80% of the population lives in a slum.
In the coming years, numbers of slum-dwellers worldwide are only set to rise.
Why do so many people live in slums?
And what are the largest slums in the world?
Well, first of all, what is a slum?
Well, the UN defines them as having five specific characteristics.
They usually lack permanent housing, sufficient space for inhabitants, clean water access,
appropriate sanitation, and personal safety.
Many slums are located on the outskirts of towns, and are poorly constructed, without
any housing authority regulations.
People live in urban slums in order to access more work opportunities.
However, the work is often not enough to fully extricate them from the cycle of poverty.
A majority of slum dwellers live on mere dollars per day.
Where are the world’s biggest slums?
Well, they reside in the developing nations in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
The UN reports that the most “DEPRIVED” slum-dwellers live in Sub Saharan Africa.
According to a 2013 analysis by the Borgen Project, the top five most populous slums
are found in the countries of South Africa, Kenya, India, Pakistan and Mexico.
South Africa’s biggest slum is home to around 400 thousand people, while Mexico’s biggest
slum is said to contain 4 MILLION residents.
One of India’s largest slums in Mumbai, contains up to a million people, and served
as the backdrop for the Oscar winning film, “Slumdog Millionaire”.
In what may be the most populous slum in the world, near Mexico City, residents live near
a massive landfill, and are exposed to one of the highest crime rates in the nation.
Accurate statistics are hard to come by for many slums, but experts believe that slum
areas are some of the fastest growing human habitats, worldwide.
Despite the UN’s and many nation’s best efforts, the growth of slums continue to outpace
social and structural urban improvements.
Still, the UN continues to push for increased government oversight in slums, in the hopes
that residents will be able to overcome their living situations, and eventually prosper
elsewhere.
One of the most interesting slums in the world is in one of the tallest buildings in the
world.
To learn about the story of this South African monument, watch Seeker Daily’s video here.
There’s a link in the description if you want to check it out.
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