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Top 10 Largest Slums in the World

As the world’s population continues to grow, so does the problem of informal settlements. In fact, the largest slums in the world combined are larger than some countries. When one looks at the deplorable conditions in these slums, it becomes a reminder of humanity’s failure to provide the basic necessities of life for such a large population! Here are the 10 largest slums in the world today!

1. Orangi Town, Karachi, Pakistan

Located on the northwestern outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, is the world's largest slum. Orangi Town, in Karachi, Pakistan was established in 1965, as a municipal township. However, over the years, it has continued to attract people, especially from the villages. Orangi Town is also home to a very diverse ethnic group including Serkis, Sindhis, Bohras, Ismailis, Punjabis, Muhajirs, Pakhtuns and Kashmiris. A major problem in Orangi is the lack of sanitation; but after waiting for government intervention, most locals have built their own toilets; and it is now estimated that 96% of households have toilets.

Although not known for its poverty like many other slums around the world, residents of Orangi face a lack of basic amenities and services. Water scarcity is one of the most serious problems in Orangi. The town relies heavily on the Hub Dam, which is unreliable in providing adequate water. Experts have found that other canals are full of pathogens. Poor water quality is responsible for 40% of deaths in Pakistan and is the leading cause of child mortality, with 60% of deaths due to diarrhea.

Orangi is beset by other problems such as overcrowding and strain on health services. However, Orangi has demonstrated what people can do when they work together, such as when they built a sewerage system in the 1980s. Similar to many slums around the world, Orangi has a housing crisis, with demand for housing three times higher than supply. Between eight and 10 people live in a two-bedroom household in many parts of Orangi.

Population: 2.4 million
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2. Ciudad Neza, Mexico City, Mexico

Ciudad Neza has a population of 1.2 million. It is an informal settlement in Mexico City, built near the Distrito Federal. During the wave of urban migration in the mid-20th century, newcomers to Neza built wooden and cardboard shacks, with no electricity, sewage or running water, schools or paved roads. Shallow houses sit next to rag-covered shanties, and horse-drawn carts filled with trash pass shiny old cars. Neza is squalid, with no schools, poor transportation and health care, and is considered extremely dangerous, even by Mexican standards.

Although the settlement was planned, developed and built illegally, there is a strong sense of community as residents band together to provide for their needs. However, Ciudad Neza needs investment primarily in transportation, jobs, and education. Crime and drugs are a constant problem in Ciudad Neza, but these are problems that occur throughout Mexico. Ciudad Neza has met a need; it has created opportunities for people to have housing. It is considered a model self-building city because people have come together to provide what they need.

Population: 1.2 million
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3. Dharavi, Mumbai, India

Dharavi, with a population of around 1 million and an area of ​​around 2.1 square kilometres, is one of the most densely populated places on earth. It is one of the largest slums in the world and one of the first places that comes to mind when discussing unsanitary living conditions. The Dharavi slum was established in 1884 during the British colonial period. It grew in size as the colonial government evicted factories and residents from the nearby peninsular city centre. Since then, it has continued to see a staggering population growth as more rural Indians have moved to the slum, looking for work in Mumbai.

Dharavi has suffered from numerous epidemics and other disasters, including the widespread bubonic plague of 1896, which killed more than half of Mumbai’s population. Many are second-generation residents, whose parents had moved there years earlier. According to Lonely Planet, 60% of Mumbai’s population lives in slums, and the largest slum is in Dharavi. Dharavi has a large number of thriving small-scale industries, producing embroidered garments, export-quality leather goods, pottery and plastics. It is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic and diverse settlement. Dharavi is said to be one of the most literate slums in India with a literacy rate of 69%.

Dharvi is largely a collection of wooden structures built very close together. It was the location of the famous movie Slumdog Millionaire; the slum lacks sewage, drainage and security systems. Dharavi is a maze of about 5 square kilometres of narrow lanes, ramshackle buildings, shanties and open drains. Interestingly, most residents have access to electricity and cooking gas. Since 1950, proposals for redevelopment plans for Dharavi have been periodically made. However, most of these plans have failed due to lack of financial and/or political support.

Population: 1 million
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4. Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya

Kibera is an extremely poor suburb of Nairobi with nearly 1 million residents spread over an area of ​​just 2.5 square kilometers. Its origins date back to 1900, when the British colonialists decided that Africans should live separately from Europeans on the outskirts of the city. The British also decided to separate Africans by ethnicity, and Kibera was the settlement where Nubian soldiers were assigned. Over the following decades, Kibera grew into a slum, and what started as a small settlement of just 600 residents grew into a suburb of a million people.

Kibera is made up of small structures built close together and has virtually no sewage, water, or electricity. On each street location, you will find residential areas, including thousands of shacks built in no clear order and forming a maze of streets and alleys. Most residents of the Kibera slum live in extreme poverty, earning less than US$1 a day. Unemployment is around 80%, and only 20% of the population has access to electricity and proper toilets. In addition to poverty, there is a high rate of HIV and AIDS, affecting around 20% of the population.

The settlement is also insecure; rape is common. Kibera residents often cannot afford to send their children to school, they need health care, and most importantly, they need clean drinking water. Although the Nairobi county is one of the poorest and dirtiest in Africa, high and rigorous investment in education has made Kibera one of the most hopeful slums.

Population: 700,000
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5. Kawangware, Nairobi, Kenya

Kawangware in Nairobi, Kenya, located between Lavington Estate and Da Goretti, is a poor slum with a population of between 200,000 and 650,000. It is an informal settlement with little or no planning. Many houses have electricity but lack clean water, sewage, and sewerage. Over 65% of the adult population is unemployed and has no access to education, some young people forget their dreams and turn to prostitution or crime to earn money; others become pregnant and continue to struggle to survive. Many children in the slum do not attend school.

Poverty is perhaps the biggest problem in the Kawangware slum; most residents live on less than $2 a day. Water provided by the municipal government is not available every day. Safe drinking water in Kawangware is scarce and expensive. Waterborne diseases, respiratory pneumonia, aspiration pneumonia and malaria are common as well as many airborne diseases due to poor drainage. There are a number of ongoing health problems in Kawangware; one of which is the prevalence of waterborne diseases due to the scarcity of safe drinking water. Respiratory pneumonia, airborne malaria due to poor drainage are also concerns. Furthermore, many people in Kawangware are HIV positive.

Education in Kawangware, Kenya is quite expensive and a luxury that most families cannot afford. Primary schools are free in Kenya but due to corruption. Secondary schools are not funded by the government. Many families in Kenya are so poor that it is estimated that 4 out of 10 children drop out of school before reaching secondary school, and are then forced to work to support their families financially. One in eight Kenyans dies before the age of eight because they cannot afford good health care. About 30,000 children are homeless on the streets of Nairobi.

Population: 650,000
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6. Mathare, Nairobi, Kenya

Mathare is not just one slum in Nairobi; it is considered a collection of slums in Nairobi, the oldest of which dates back to the 1920s. The oldest of these slums is called Mathare Valley and has a population of around 120,000. The slum is a collection of wooden structures built without any central planning. The structures are clustered together without any space, drainage or sewage; some structures are literally standing on piles of rubbish.

Unemployment in Mathare is estimated to be around 80%; even those who are employed have very poor job security. The informal settlements consist of crudely constructed one-room mud, tin or wooden huts with no electricity and no sewage system. Access to water is usually from a shared tap, which typically serves 100 households. The average population per hut is eight people. Although Kenya has provided free primary education since 2003, many school-age children are still not enrolled in school or drop out early, especially in slums where there are fewer public primary schools.

Mathare lacks the necessities of modern life such as electricity, roads, clean water and sanitation. Furthermore, the area is in dire need of security as it is virtually lawless. There is an ongoing gang war; caused by some gangs imposing heavy taxes on local alcoholic beverage producers. People are trying to channel the energy of these restless youths into something productive, such as sports. Mathare is home to several football teams.

Population: 500,000
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7. Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa

Khayelitsha is located in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the largest informal settlement in South Africa with a population of 400,000 people and is also one of the largest slums in the world. Most of the homes in Khayelitsha are shacks made of wood and corrugated iron for roofing. Thousands of people in the town do not have access to proper toilets; and the area is generally dirty. The unemployment rate for those living in Khayelitsha is 73%, with 70% of the population living in shacks.

The shacks are built so close together that fires are a common problem due to the speed with which they spread and the frequency with which they occur. Khayelitsha does not have street names, instead the vast area is divided into 26 districts, numbered by letters, each shack has a different number. Lack of clean water and food is another difficulty. It is estimated that one in three people have to walk 200 metres or more to access clean water. Limited food is sold between shacks, often exposed to the sun and flies. Food sold between shacks is the only food option in Khayelitsha as there are no supermarkets or shops of any kind.

Khayelitsha now has schools and health facilities, but many people still have to walk long distances to get drinking water. Severe poverty combined with a lack of community infrastructure has led to high rates of crime, gangs, violence and drug use in the community, making Khayelitsha the murder capital of South Africa. Local police say they deal with an average of four murders every weekend. Khayelitsha is virtually unrecognised by most of South Africa’s leading businesses, although it does create opportunities for those in the informal economy.

Population: 400,000
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8. Makoko, Lagos

Makoko is a cluster of six collective slum villages. Four of these villages are floating on the water in a lagoon, and two are on land. Despite being just a few kilometres from the city’s financial centre, not far from the headquarters of the oil companies on Victoria Island, it was a blank spot on the map until recently. Makoko is one of Africa’s most unique inner-city slums, with a third of the community built on stilts in a lagoon off the Lagos mainland

Transportation in Makoko is by canoe. The rest of the settlement is on swampy land, with little sanitation and few public services. The settlement lacks basic social amenities such as electricity, schools and health clinics. Residents lack adequate sanitation, with around 15 households sharing a communal latrine, and wastewater, faeces, kitchen waste and plastic bags going straight into the water. Makoko residents have been under immense pressure over the past few years due to rising land prices.

Crime, drug abuse and malnutrition are some of the major problems, while diseases such as malaria continue to pose serious health challenges. Fishing is a major commercial activity in Makoko, with fish often smoked and sold to resellers at local markets. Many residents say life in Makoko is not much different from on the mainland; buying and selling goes on as normal.

Population: 300,000
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9. Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rocinha, in Rio de Janeiro, is considered one of the largest, most densely populated, and most urbanized favelas in Rio de Janeiro. The community has an estimated population of between 100,000 and 200,000 people, crammed into a steep, rugged landscape of only (0.80) square miles. Rocinha has historically been neglected by the government. However, it is actually a very interesting place. Most of the structures are solidly built; some are even four stories high.

In the densely populated community of Rocinha, the majority of residents live in poverty or near poverty, living in small shacks stacked on top of each other, sometimes as high as 7, 8, 9, and even 11 stories. Most homes in Rocinha have basic sanitation, plumbing, and electricity. There are about 21 neighborhoods in Rocinha, but the community only covers an area of ​​about 0.86 square kilometers. The important thing about Rocinha is that it is built on very shabbily-built land, and the buildings are mostly clustered together without any real planning.

The educational status of Rocinha residents is very low. Residents have an average of only 4.1 years of formal education, with less than 1% of Rocinha's adult population having a high school diploma or higher. Jobs that pay a living wage in Brazil are almost exclusively reserved for citizens with higher levels of formal education.

Population: 200,000
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10. Kangemi, Nairobi, Kenya

Kangemi is a slum in Kenya located on the outskirts of Nairobi. Kangemi has a symbiotic relationship with the neighboring middle-class neighborhoods of Loresho and Kibagare and Westlands to the west. Its southern border connects with Kawangware, another large slum, and its eastern border connects with Mountain View, another middle-class area. It is located on the road that connects Nairobi to Naivasha. Kangemi may have over 100,000 residents. Although it is a multi-ethnic slum, the largest population group is made up of the Luhya tribe

Kangemi is located in a small valley. The slum has no sewerage system. About 20,000 people belong to a Catholic parish based in Kangemi. Kangemi is home to some of Nairobi's poorest people; they often live on less than $2 a day and lack good food, running water, and sanitation. There is high unemployment, drug addiction and alcoholism. Kangemi has a major HIV problem.

One of the main problems facing Kangemi residents is the lack of proper sewage treatment and waste disposal services. Nairobi’s central sewage system is often inaccessible to those living in various informal settlements. The hardships of slum living are exacerbated by the density of the population in these areas. Adding to the overcrowding problem is the frequent occurrence of fires in the area. Illegal electrical connections using drying racks create a tangled web of electrical wires that hang precariously over people’s roofs, creating a dangerous fire hazard.

Population: 100,000
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