UN ISSUES COMPENDIUM OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS STATISTICS 1995
Press Release
HAB/107
STAT/432
UN ISSUES COMPENDIUM OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS STATISTICS 1995
19960213 Findings Indicate World Urbanizing at Rapid Pace; Great Disparities between Cities in Developing and Developed WorldNew York, 13 February (DESIPA) -- As part of the preparatory process for the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II), the Statistics Division of the Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis (DESIPA), together with the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), has issued the Compendium of Human Settlements Statistics 1995.
The Compendium presents human settlements statistics for 243 countries or areas and 338 cities in five general areas: population, land use, housing, infrastructure and services and crime. It consists of 30 tables and over 160 graphs highlighting main findings.
Data were collected from national statistical offices and ministries through statistical questionnaires and from other sources, mostly the Demographic Yearbook, published annually by the Statistics Division and World Urbanization Prospects - The 1994 Revision, issued by the Population Division of the DESIPA.
Urbanization
The world is rapidly becoming urbanized. The total number of urban agglomerations with population of 500,000 or more was 438 in 1980. By 2010, this number is estimated to more than double to 892 and the number of people residing in these cities will increase five times, from 745 million to 3.8 billion.
The urban population will grow three times faster than its rural counterpart. Recently revised United Nations estimates show that 45 per cent of the world population lived in urban areas in 1994. One half of the world population is expected to reside in urban areas by 2005 and more than three fifths by 2025.
Cities in Developed and Developing World
In 1950 only three of the 10 largest cities in the world were located in developing countries (Shanghai, Buenos Aires and Calcutta). In 1990, another
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four cities of those countries were added (Beijing, Bombay, Mexico City and São Paulo). By 2010, it is estimated that eight of the 10 largest cities will be in the developing world, with only two (New York and Tokyo) located in the developed world.
Cities all over the world face dramatic challenges in providing service to their residents. However, the problems are even greater in cities of the developing world.
According to the Compendium, a higher proportion of the population in cities of the developing world is under 15 years of age, about 30 per cent, in contrast to about 20 per cent in cities of the developed world. In some cities in developing countries the share of the population under 15 is even higher: 44 per cent in Lilongwe (Malawi) and Bamako (Mali); 40 per cent in Tegucigalpa (Honduras) and Islamabad (Pakistan); 35 per cent in Delhi (India); 33 per cent in Ankara (Turkey); 31 per cent in Nairobi (Kenya).
Many children aged 10 to 14 do not attend school in cities of the developing world -- 32 per cent in Bamako (Mali), 21 per cent in Port-Louis (Mauritius), 24 per cent in Port-au-Prince (Haiti), 32 per cent in Islamabad (Pakistan).
Many more people share a housing unit in cities in the developing world. The average number of persons per living unit in those cities is four to five, as in Tunis (Tunisia), Lima (Peru), Tegucigalpa (Honduras) and Mexico City (Mexico), while the ratio in developed cities is 1.5 to 2.
Around two thirds of housing units in cities in developing countries were without facilities, such as piped water, toilets, electricity or cooking space. Concerning piped water within the housing unit, no access is reported in 68 per cent of housing units in Bamako (Mali) and Port-au-Prince (Haiti), 46 per cent in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), 43 per cent in Asuncion (Paraguay), 20 per cent in Bangkok (Thailand), 19 per cent in Guatemala City (Guatemala). Concerning kitchens or other space reserved for cooking, no availability is reported in 31 per cent of housing units in Tegucigalpa (Honduras), 26 per cent in La Paz (Bolivia), 24 per cent in Guatemala City (Guatemala), 19 per cent in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) and 15 per cent in Quito (Ecuador).
Access to health services differs greatly between residents of cities in developed and developing countries. In Delhi (India), there is less than one physician per 1,000 population; the ratio is six times higher in Oslo (Norway), with over six physicians per 1,000 population.
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Note:Compendium of Human Settlements Statistics 1995 (Sales No. E.95.XVII.11) at $65 per copy, may be obtained from the Sales Section, United Nations, New York or Geneva; or through major booksellers throughout the world. A reference copy can be consulted by accredited correspondents at the third floor press documents centre.