Nairobi is home to some of the world's largest informal settlements, where an estimated 60 percent of the city's population lives despite occupying only 5 percent of the land. The principal slums are Kibera, Mathare, Korogocho, and Mukuru.
Kibera
Kibera is the largest informal settlement in sub-Saharan Africa, with estimates ranging from 250,000 to over 1 million residents. The settlement sprawls across approximately 6 square kilometers in the southwest of the city. Kibera originated from land allocated to Nubian soldiers (the King's African Rifles) in 1904 and has since metastasized into a densely packed urban slum with minimal infrastructure.
Mathare
Mathare, located in central Nairobi, is another massive informal settlement with a population estimated between 500,000 and 1 million. It developed haphazardly from the 1960s onward as rural-urban migrants flooded the city seeking employment. The settlement is notorious for gang activity, insecurity, and one of the worst post-election violence incidents in 2007-2008.
Korogocho
Korogocho, in the eastern part of the city, is built largely on a waste dump where Nairobi's garbage is transported. The settlement exists in conditions of extreme poverty and environmental degradation. Despite these circumstances, residents have built schools, churches, and small businesses.
Mukuru
Mukuru, another large informal settlement, developed in the southern part of the city along the Nairobi River. Like other slums, it suffers from inadequate water, sanitation, electricity, and basic services.
Challenges
All of Nairobi's slums face common problems: inadequate water and sanitation, no formal title to land, periodic demolitions, gang violence, drug abuse, and limited economic opportunity. Yet these settlements house millions of people who work as domestic servants, laborers, traders, and informal service providers throughout the city.
See Also
Nairobi Timeline Nairobi Ethnic Mix Nairobi Economy Nairobi National Park Kikuyu Nairobi Colonial City