Population Reports' Q&As

Meeting the Urban Challenge

The Urban Poor

Why is it misleading to state that urban residents in developing countries generally enjoy better health than rural dwellers?

While the health of urban residents in developing countries is generally better than that of rural dwellers, within urban areas, however, the urban poor face many more health risks than the average urban resident. In 17 of 18 countries studied with DHS data, for example, infant mortality was higher in the less developed urban areas than in the more developed urban areas (with level of development indicated by access to piped water) (7). Health conditions for the urban poor are sometimes even worse than they are for the rural poor (7, 161, 163).

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