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Facts and figures

Facts and figures about conditions in human settlements from UN-HABITAT’s  State of the World’s Cities: 2001

View Press Kits from State of the World's Cities 2006/7

Shelter

• 75% of the world’s countries have constitutions or national laws that promote the full and progressive realisation of the right to adequate housing.
• 61% of countries in the world have constitutions or national laws that protect against forced evictions.
• Households in cities of developing countries need an average of 8 times their annual income to buying a house; in Africa, they need an average of 12.5 times their annual income, while in Latin America, they only need 5.4 times their annual income. The highest rents are in the Arab States, where a household spends an average of 45% of its monthly income on rent.
• One out of every four countries in the developing world have constitutions or national laws which prevent women from owning land and/or taking mortgages in their own names. Customary or legal constraints to women owning land or property are highest in Africa, the Arab States, Asia and Latin America.
• Real estate costs are highest in Asia and the Pacific where one square metre of land for a serviced plot costs an average of US$ 3.1.  Africa is at the lowest end of the real estate market with an average price of US$ 0.15 per square metre.
• Less than 20% of households in Africa are connected to piped water and only 40% have access to water within 200 meters of their house.

Society

• 5.8% of children in cities of the developing world die before reaching the age of five years.
• 29% of cities in the developing world have areas considered as inaccessible or dangerous to the police. In Latin America and the Caribbean, this figure is 48 %.
• In cities of the developing world, one out of every four households lives in poverty. 40% of African urban households and 25% of Latin American urban households are living below the locally defined poverty lines.

Environment

• City dwellers in Africa only use 50 litres of water per person per day.  The highest median price of water is also highest in Africa.
• In highly industrialised countries, almost 100% of households are connected to piped water. The average water consumption for these households is 215 litres per person daily.
• Less than 35% of cities in the developing world have their wastewater treated.
• In countries with economies in transition, 75% of solid wastes are disposed of in open dumps.
• 71% of the world’s cities have building codes with anti-cyclone and anti-seismic building standards based on hazard and vulnerability assessment.
• Buses and minibuses are the most common mode of transport in the world’s cities. Cars are the second most common mode used, while walking is the third most common mode. Travel time in Asian cities appears to be the longest with an average of 42 minutes per trip.

Economy

• 37% of the population in cities of the developing world is employed within the informal sector.
• 70% of the world’s cities have developed city-to-city international co-operation. 68% of these cities are affiliated to one or more international association of local authorities.
• 63% of the world’s cities have established new public-private partnerships in the last five years
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Governance

• 49% of the world’s cities have established urban environmental plans.
• The absolute quantity of local government income varies enormously, with total local government revenue per person in cities of highly industrialised countries being 9 times that of cities in the developing world, 39 times that of African cities and 18 times that of Latin American cities.
• 60% of the world’s cities involve civil society in a formal participatory process prior to the implementation of major public projects.
• 70% of cities in the world undertake regular independent auditing of municipal accounts. 78% of the world’s cities publicly announce contracts and tenders for municipal services. 55% of cities have laws that govern disclosure of potential conflict of interest.