Claim: “70% of people in Monrovia live in slums.”
Verdict: Correct; both the World Bank and Cities Alliance have said Approximately 70% of people in the metro area live in slums
Full Text: Samuel Jackson, a renowned Liberia economist, claimed in a radio appearance on Spoon Talk on Tuesday, July 9, that 70% of the people in Monrovia live in slum communities.
Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, is the largest city, with an urban population of 1,021,762.
Jackson’s claim can be found around three hours, twenty-three seconds, and twenty-five seconds.
Verification: A review of the World Bank’s 2020 indicator puts Liberia at 64% and a 2020 spatial analysis investigating constraints and opportunities in the Greater Monrovia Urban Review shows that the informal communities in Monrovia make up approximately 70% of the built-up area and accommodate two-thirds of the city’s population, which is approximately 1.56 million people.
The World Bank’s information states that the informal areas translate to approximately 113 slum communities, most concentrated in environmentally sensitive wetlands.
According to the UN Habitat report, the urban population lives in the Greater Monrovia area, with an estimated 70%.
Cities Alliance states in a 4-page report that over 40% of Liberia’s urban residents live in greater Monrovia, whose population is growing at over 7% – meaning the city will double in roughly ten years. Approximately 70% of people in the metro area live in slums.
Additionally, an Open Cities Africa research report published in November 2018 focusing on informal settlements in Monrovia states that “two out of three Monrovians reside in the unplanned and slum communities in lowlands and swamps.”
In February 2019, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap team also released an annual report of a project that sought to map flood-prone areas of Monrovia to enhance resilience against flooding in urban communities.
The report states that two-thirds of the population of Monrovia lives in unplanned or slum communities in low-elevation coastal areas and swampy flood-prone lands.
Conclusion: Sam Jackson is correct after a review of the various available data and research materials provided by the World Bank and Cities Alliance, which states that 70% of people residing in Monrovia live in swamps.
