This document defines slums and provides census data on slum households in India. It defines a slum as an area with dilapidated, overcrowded housing lacking proper infrastructure. Slums are categorized as notified, recognized, or identified. Census 2011 data shows there were 1.08 lakh slum blocks housing 137.49 lakh households across 2,543 towns. States like Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have the highest proportion of slum households. Most slum households live in temporary housing, have 1-2 rooms, and lack amenities like piped water, toilets, and kitchens.

1. Dr C. CHANDRAMOULI
REGISTRAR GENERAL & CENSUS
COMMISSIONER, INDIA

2. A Slum in Delhi

3. Definition of a Slum
A Slum, for the purpose of Census, has been
defined as residential areas where dwellings are
unfit for human habitation by reasons of
dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangements
and design of such buildings, narrowness or faulty
arrangement of street, lack of ventilation, light, or
sanitation facilities or any combination of these
factors which are detrimental to the safety and
health.

4. Identification of Slums in
Census
• For the purpose of Census, slums have been
categorized and defined as of the following three
types:
• Notified Slums
• Recognized Slums
• Identified Slums

5. All notified areas in a town or city
notified as ‘Slum’ by State, UT
Administration or Local Government
under any Act including a ‘Slum Act’
• Notified Slums
• Recognized Slums
• Identified Slums
Identification of Slums

6. All areas recognised as ‘Slum’ by State, UT
Administration or Local Government, Housing
and Slum Boards, which may have not been
formally notified as slum under any act
• Notified Slums
• Recognized Slums
• Identified Slums
Identification of Slums

7. A compact area of at least 300 population or
about 60-70 households of poorly built
congested tenements, in unhygienic
environment usually with inadequate
infrastructure and lacking in proper sanitary and
drinking water facilities (Identified).
• Notified Slums
• Recognized Slums
• Identified Slums
Identification of Slums

8. Data on Slum from Census
• It is for the first time in Census that datasets on Housing
stock, Amenities and Assets based on the Houselisting
and Housing Census are being released
• In Census 2001, information on Slums were released
only on demographic characteristics based on the
Population Enumeration. For this purpose, Slum Blocks
were identified in Statutory Towns having a population of
20,000 by the local authorities at the time of Population
Enumeration phase
• In Census 2011, Slum Blocks have been delineated in
all statutory towns irrespective of population size.

9. Census 2011
Results

10. • Out of 4,041 Statutory Towns
in Census 2011 Slums
reported from 2,543 Towns
(63%)
• Total Slum Enumeration
Blocks (SEBs) in Census
2011 is about 1.08 lakh in the
country
• Largest number of Slum EBs
reported from Maharashtra
(21,359)
Towns Reporting Slums
India : Census 2011

11. • Notified Slums 37,072
• Recognised Slums 30,846
• Identified Slums 40,309
Total: 1,08,227 Blocks
Number of Slum Blocks by
Type of Slums – India :
Census 2011

12. • Notified Slums 49.65 lakh HHs
• Recognised Slums 37.96 lakh HHs
• Identified Slums 49.88 lakh HHs
Total: 137.49 lakh HHs
Households by Type of
Slums – India : Census
2011

13. Slum & Non-Slum Households
– India 2011
Indicator
Number of
households
(in lakh)
Total (Urban) 789
Slum 137
Non-Slum 652
Number of households (in %)
Slum 17.4
Non-Slum 82.6

14. Number of Slum Households in
Million Plus Cities
Indicator Number
Number of Slum Households (in lakh)
Total (Slum) 137
Slum in Million Plus Cities 52
Slum in other Cities 85
Number of Slum Households (in %)
Slum in Million Plus Cities 38.1
Slum in other Cities 61.9
38 % of the slum households are in 46 Million Plus Cities

15. Top/Bottom 5 States
Reporting Slum Households
State
Proportion of Slum
HHs to Urban HHs
(%)
Andhra Pradesh 35.7
Chhattisgarh 31.9
Madhya Pradesh 28.3
Odisha 23.1
West Bengal 21.9
Top 5 States
Bottom 5 States
State
Proportion of
Slum HHs to
Urban HHs (%)
Chandigarh# 9.7
Gujarat 6.7
Jharkhand 5.3
Assam 4.8
Kerala 1.5

16. Percentage
of Slum
HHs to
Total Urban
HHs

17. Proportion of Slum Households in
Metros - 2011
Million Plus Cities
Proportion of Slum
HHs to Total Urban
HHs (%)
Greater Mumbai (M Corp.) 41.3
Kolkata (M Corp.) 29.6
Chennai (M Corp.) 28.5
Delhi Municipal Corp (U) 14.6
BBMP (M Corp.) 8.5

18. Million Plus Cities with High
Proportion of Slum HHs (Top 10
only) - 2011
Million Plus Cities
Proportion of Slum HHs to
Total Urban HHs (%)
1. Greater Visakhapatnam M Corp. 44.1
2. Jabalpur Cantt (CB) 43.3
3. Greater Mumbai (M Corp.) 41.3
4. Vijayawada (M Corp.) 40.6
5. Meerut (M Corp.) 40.0
6. Raipur (M Corp.) 39.0
7. Nagpur (M Corp.) 34.3
8. Greater Hyderabad M Corp. (GHMC) 31.9
9. Kota (M Corp.) 31.8
10. Agra (M Corp.) 29.8

19. INDIA (Absolute numbers in lakh)
Use of Census House Urban Slum
Total Occupies Census Houses 990 160
Residence 761 133
Residence-cum-other use 24 3.9
Shop/Office 107 10.8
School/College, etc 4 0.5
Hotel/Lodge/Guest House 4 0.4
Hospital/ Dispensary, etc 3 0.3
Factory/ Workshop, etc 15 2
Place of worship 6 0.9
Other non-residential use 59 8
Locked Census Houses 7 1
Use of Occupied Census Houses
India : 2011

20. INDIA (in %)
Use of Census House Urban Slum
Total Occupies Census Houses 100.0 100.0
Residence 76.9 82.5
Residence-cum-other use 2.4 2.4
Shop/Office 10.8 6.7
School/College, etc 0.4 0.3
Hotel/Lodge/Guest House 0.4 0.2
Hospital/ Dispensary, etc 0.3 0.2
Factory/ Workshop, etc 1.5 1.2
Place of worship 0.6 0.6
Other non-residential use 6.0 5.1
Locked Census House 0.7 0.6
Use of Occupied Census Houses
India : 2011

21. A Lane in a Slum

22. Households by Type of Census Houses –
India
Type Urban Slum
Permanent 84.3 77.7
Semi-permanent 11.6 16.0
Temporary 3.2 5.3
Any other 0.9 1.0
HHs (in %)

23. Slum
Households
by Structure
of Census
Houses
(Permanent)

24. View of a Slum in Delhi

25. Households by Number of Room – India
Number of Room Urban Slum
No exclusive room 3.1 4.4
One room 32.1 44.8
Two room 30.6 29.5
Three room 18.4 12.3
Four room 9.3 5.4
Five rooms and above 6.5 3.5
HHs (in %)

26. Households by Household Size– India
Household Size Urban Slum
1 member 3.6 3.7
2 members 9.5 9.5
3 members 15.9 14.9
4 members 26.4 25.1
5 members 18.5 19.4
6 to 8 members 20.6 22.2
9 and above members 5.4 5.2
HHs (in %)

27. Households by Number of Married Couples
– India
Number of married couples Urban Slum
None 12.7 13.6
1 71.1 72.1
2 12.6 11.3
3 2.8 2.4
4 0.6 0.5
5 and above 0.2 0.1
HHs (in %)

28. Households by Ownership Status – India
Ownership Status of Census House Urban Slum
Owned 69.2 70.2
Rented 27.5 26.3
Others 3.3 3.5
HHs (in %)

29. Source of Drinking Water – India
Source of drinking water Urban Slum
1. Tap 70.6 74.0
From treated source 62.0 65.3
From untreated source 8.6 8.7
2. Well 6.2 3.0
3. Hand pump 11.9 12.7
4. Tube well / Borehole 8.9 7.6
5. Other sources 2.5 2.8
HHs (in %)

30. Waiting for Water Supply

31. Location of Drinking Water Source– India
Location Urban Slum
1. Within premises 71.2 56.7
2. Outside premises 28.8 43.3
HHs (in %)

32. Slum HHs by
Location
Drinking Water
Source (Within
premises)

33. Source of Lighting– India
Source of lighting Urban Slum
1. Electricity 92.7 90.5
2. Kerosene 6.5 8.2
3. Solar 0.2 0.3
4. Other oil 0.1 0.2
5. Any other 0.2 0.2
6. No lighting 0.3 0.5
HHs (in %)

34. Slum HHs by
Fuel Used for
Cooking
(LPG/PNG)

35. Availability of Bathing Facility within Premises - India
Bathing Facility Urban Slum
1. Have facility 87.0 81.0
(a) Bathroom 77.5 66.6
(b) Enclosure without roof 9.5 14.5
2. Does not have facility 13.0 19.0
HHs (in %)

36. Drainage Connectivity for Waste Water
Outlet– India
Drainage connectivity Urban Slum
1. Closed drainage 44.5 36.9
2. Open drainage 37.3 44.3
3. No drainage 18.2 18.8
HHs (in %)

37. Type of Latrine Facility– India
Type of latrine Urban Slum
1. Latrine within the premises 81.4 66.0
(a) Water closet 72.6 57.7
(b) Pit latrine 7.1 6.2
© Other latrine 1.7 2.2
2. No latrine within premises 18.6 34.0
(a) Public latrine 6.0 15.1
(b) Open 12.6 18.9
HHs (in %)

38. Availability of Kitchen– India
Availability of kitchen Urban Slum
Total 100.0 100.0
1. Cooking inside house: 95.8 94.1
(a) Has kitchen 77.8 65.3
(b) Does not have kitchen 18.0 28.8
2. Cooking outside house 3.7 5.4
(a) Has kitchen 1.6 2.0
(b) Does not have kitchen 2.0 3.4
3. No cooking 0.5 0.5
HHs (in %)

40. Fuel used for Cooking– India
Fuel used for cooking Urban Slum
1. Fire-wood 20.1 25.8
2. Crop residue 1.4 1.6
3. Cow dung cake 1.7 2.1
4. Coal, Lignite, Charcoal 2.9 3.9
5. Kerosene 7.5 14.0
6. LPG/ PNG 65.0 51.3
7. Electricity 0.1 0.1
8. Biogas 0.4 0.5
9. Any other 0.2 0.3
10. No cooking 0.5 0.5
HHs (in %)

41. Households Availing Banking Services–
India
Availing Banking Services Urban Slum
1. Availing 67.8 53.2
2. Not availing 32.2 46.8
HHs (in %)

42. Household Possessing Various Assets –
India
Asset Urban Slum
1. Radio/Transistor 25.3 18.7
2. Television 76.7 69.6
3. Computer 18.7 10.4
With Internet 8.3 3.3
Without Internet 10.4 7.1
HHs (in %)

44. Household Possessing Various Assets–
India
Asset Urban Slum
5. Telephone 82.0 72.7
Landline only 5.9 4.4
Mobile only 64.3 63.5
Both 11.7 4.8
6. Bicycle 41.9 40.2
7. Scooter/Motor Cycle/Moped 35.2 22.0
8. Car/Jeep/Van 9.7 3.6
9. None of the specified assets 7.0 10.7
HHs (in %)

45. 63.5% HHs in
Slums in India
has Mobile

46. Slum HHs
Having None
of the
Specified
Assets

47. Life in a Slum

48. Life in a Slum

49. THANK YOUTHANK YOU
For more details visit:
censusindia.gov.in