The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Mapping urban slums and spatial inequality in sub-Saharan Africa

Mapping urban slums and spatial inequality in sub-Saharan Africa
Mapping urban slums and spatial inequality in sub-Saharan Africa
Slums house nearly one-quarter of the global urban population, yet their spatial and socioeconomic dynamics remain poorly understood, hindering progress toward the United Nations’ commitment to ‘leave no one behind’. Here, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, we integrate geospatial data with household surveys to map slum prevalence and asset-based wealth inequalities across 32 countries. We identify that 54.6% of the urban population in these countries live in slums, with lower wealth levels compared with non-slum areas. Despite a reduction in the proportion of slum populations over the past two decades, wealth inequalities have risen, especially in countries with substantial slum populations. This study highlights profound inequalities in urban essential services, living conditions and household wealth in sub-Saharan African countries, emphasizing the importance of fine-scale analysis of slum distributions and associated wealth inequalities to inform inclusive programs.
2731-9997
Li, Chengxiu
5c025d03-9b07-4413-a3eb-9ccdc3cf3bbc
Yu, Le
c2092251-0d70-475a-8839-c69b03c7214c
Ndugwa, Robert
5a700daa-39bc-43fb-af1b-dc269e977011
Bailey, Adrian
0be1bf26-c32b-4db9-b028-a537bdf2e4f4
Zhang, Xiaoling
f6596d7e-3ad7-472f-ad46-2a8adadfde38
Oloo, Francis
15a0f682-0c52-4259-a4d2-3e8c36072aa2
Chimimba, Ellasy Gulule
94ec6aaf-bf9d-4120-b21c-b719e2b83cb8
Deng, Xiangzhen
e7d3eb33-4b15-4ab6-9cb0-7093c895e8a4
Wright, Jim
94990ecf-f8dd-4649-84f2-b28bf272e464
Li, Chengxiu
5c025d03-9b07-4413-a3eb-9ccdc3cf3bbc
Yu, Le
c2092251-0d70-475a-8839-c69b03c7214c
Ndugwa, Robert
5a700daa-39bc-43fb-af1b-dc269e977011
Bailey, Adrian
0be1bf26-c32b-4db9-b028-a537bdf2e4f4
Zhang, Xiaoling
f6596d7e-3ad7-472f-ad46-2a8adadfde38
Oloo, Francis
15a0f682-0c52-4259-a4d2-3e8c36072aa2
Chimimba, Ellasy Gulule
94ec6aaf-bf9d-4120-b21c-b719e2b83cb8
Deng, Xiangzhen
e7d3eb33-4b15-4ab6-9cb0-7093c895e8a4
Wright, Jim
94990ecf-f8dd-4649-84f2-b28bf272e464

Li, Chengxiu, Yu, Le, Ndugwa, Robert, Bailey, Adrian, Zhang, Xiaoling, Oloo, Francis, Chimimba, Ellasy Gulule, Deng, Xiangzhen and Wright, Jim (2025) Mapping urban slums and spatial inequality in sub-Saharan Africa. Nature Cities. (doi:10.1038/s44284-025-00276-0).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Slums house nearly one-quarter of the global urban population, yet their spatial and socioeconomic dynamics remain poorly understood, hindering progress toward the United Nations’ commitment to ‘leave no one behind’. Here, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, we integrate geospatial data with household surveys to map slum prevalence and asset-based wealth inequalities across 32 countries. We identify that 54.6% of the urban population in these countries live in slums, with lower wealth levels compared with non-slum areas. Despite a reduction in the proportion of slum populations over the past two decades, wealth inequalities have risen, especially in countries with substantial slum populations. This study highlights profound inequalities in urban essential services, living conditions and household wealth in sub-Saharan African countries, emphasizing the importance of fine-scale analysis of slum distributions and associated wealth inequalities to inform inclusive programs.

Text
5_NATCITIES-24050539B_author_guidance_1747148853_Clean_CorrectRef - Accepted Manuscript
Restricted to Repository staff only until 8 February 2026.
Available under License Other.
Request a copy

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 6 June 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 8 August 2025

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 504061
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/504061
ISSN: 2731-9997
PURE UUID: b658d005-2eef-4f75-93da-44dd3545a6d7
ORCID for Jim Wright: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8842-2181

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 22 Aug 2025 16:33
Last modified: 23 Aug 2025 01:51

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Chengxiu Li
Author: Le Yu
Author: Robert Ndugwa
Author: Adrian Bailey
Author: Xiaoling Zhang
Author: Francis Oloo
Author: Ellasy Gulule Chimimba
Author: Xiangzhen Deng
Author: Jim Wright ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×