UN-Habitat

UN-Habitat is the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. This card shows what it is for and where it sits. Later cards give the dates and numbers.

What does UN-Habitat do?

UN-Habitat’s own history page says the UN General Assembly mandated it to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. The same page calls it the focal point for all urbanization and human settlement matters in the UN system.

The General Assembly uses similar words. Resolution 73/239 speaks of the role of UN-Habitat as a focal point on sustainable urbanization and human settlements.

A human settlement is a cluster of dwellings where people live. It can be of any type or size. Settlements range from a hamlet to a metropolitan city.

UN-Habitat describes its methods in four words. They are knowledge, policy advice, technical assistance and collaborative action.

Where is it based, and how wide is its reach?

The headquarters is in Nairobi, Kenya. The UN-Habitat Assembly and the Executive Board both meet at the headquarters in Nairobi.

A UN-Habitat advisory of 1 October 2026 says it has programmes in over 90 countries. That is the agency’s own count, as at that date.

Why does the UN need a body for cities?

UN-Habitat’s World Cities Report 2022 expected the urban share of the world’s people to rise. It put the share at 56 per cent in 2021 and 68 per cent by 2050. It also expected 2.2 billion more urban people by 2050.

SDG 11 sets the matching goal. It calls for cities and human settlements that are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. Card 4 covers it in detail.

UN-Habitat has more than one start date. Each date belongs to a different body. This card keeps them apart.

What happened in 1974 and 1975?

General Assembly resolution 3327 (XXIX) of 16 December 1974 is the legal base of the UN Habitat and Human Settlements Foundation. UN-Habitat’s history page says the Foundation began on 1 January 1975. The page calls it the first official UN body dedicated to urbanization.

The Foundation then sat under the umbrella of UNEP. Its first budget was USD 4 million for four years.

What did Habitat I do in 1976?

Habitat I was the UN Conference on Human Settlements. It met in Vancouver, Canada, from 31 May to 11 June 1976. It produced the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements.

UN-Habitat’s history page calls it the first international UN conference to fully recognise the challenge of urbanization.

What did the General Assembly create in 1977?

UN-Habitat’s history page says resolution 32/162 of 19 December 1977 created two bodies. They were the Commission on Human Settlements and the UN Centre for Human Settlements, called “Habitat”. The Centre was the Commission’s secretariat and was based in Nairobi.

The page says the Commission had 58 members. It dates the Centre’s years of work from 1978.

What did Habitat II add in 1996?

Habitat II met in Istanbul from 3 to 14 June 1996. It produced the Istanbul Declaration and the Habitat Agenda. UN-Habitat says 171 countries adopted the Agenda.

In December 1996, resolution 51/177 named the Centre a focal point for carrying out the Habitat Agenda.

When did it become UN-Habitat?

Resolution 56/206 was adopted on 21 December 2001. It decided to transform the Commission and the Centre, with the Foundation, into the UN Human Settlements Programme. The resolution says the programme is “to be known as UN-Habitat”.

The change took effect on 1 January 2002. The Commission became the Governing Council. The Centre became the secretariat. The Executive Director was set at Under-Secretary-General level.

Is 1978 the start of UN-Habitat?

Not as a programme. A 2017 PIB release said UN-Habitat “came into being in 1978”. That date fits the Centre, which worked from 1978. The name UN-Habitat dates from 1 January 2002.

• 1974 to 1975: the Foundation.
• 1977 to 1978: the Commission and the Centre.
• 1 January 2002: the programme called UN-Habitat.

The governing system changed in 2019. A Governing Council gave way to an Assembly. This card shows the old system, the new one and the people at the top.

What was the old system?

Under resolution 56/206, the Governing Council had 58 members. ECOSOC elected them for four-year terms. The Council met every two years and reported to the General Assembly through ECOSOC.

The Committee of Permanent Representatives served as the Council’s intersessional body.

What replaced the Council, and when?

Resolution 73/239 of 20 December 2018 decided to dissolve the Governing Council. It replaced the Council with the UN-Habitat Assembly. The change took effect when the first Assembly session began.

The resolution fixed that first session for May 2019. UN-Habitat’s note says it ran from 27 to 31 May 2019.

What does each tier do?

UN-Habitat’s note of 30 July 2026 describes a three-tier structure. It also lists the meeting dates below.

• UN-Habitat Assembly: all 193 UN Member States. It meets every four years in Nairobi. UN-Habitat’s note calls it the highest decision-making body in the UN on human settlements.
• Executive Board: 36 Member States elected by the Assembly, according to UN-Habitat’s note (as at 30 July 2026). It meets two to three times a year in Nairobi. It approves and oversees the annual work programme, budget and resource mobilization strategy.
• Committee of Permanent Representatives: universal membership. It meets in open-ended sessions twice every four years. It reviews the work at the mid-term and prepares each Assembly session.

Resolution 73/239 endorses the working group report A/73/726. That report sets the Board at 36 members. A UN-Habitat deck of January 2023 also says the first Assembly elected 36 Board members in May 2019.

When do the bodies meet?

• Assembly: second session 5 to 9 June 2023, resumed 29 to 30 May 2025. The next session is set for 25 to 29 June 2029.
• Executive Board: last session 21 to 22 April 2026. The next is set for 24 to 25 November 2026.
• Committee of Permanent Representatives: next open-ended sessions are set for June 2027 and June 2029.

Who leads the secretariat?

The Executive Director is at Under-Secretary-General level. The General Assembly elects the Director for four years, on the Secretary-General’s nomination.

Anacláudia Rossbach of Brazil holds the post. She was appointed on 7 June 2024 for a four-year term and took office on 12 August 2024. UN-Habitat’s advisory of 1 October 2026 still names her as Executive Director.

The same advisory names Nga Kor Ming as President of the UN-Habitat Assembly. The July 2026 note gives the Presidency to Malaysia for 2025 to 2027 and then to the UAE for 2027 to 2029.

What plan guides the work?

The Strategic Plan 2026-2029 has the focus “Housing, land and basic services for all”. The Assembly adopted it at the resumed second session in May 2025. It has three impact areas.

• Area 1: equitable and inclusive prosperity for poverty eradication.
• Area 2: environment and climate action.
• Area 3: preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction.

Two global texts guide UN-Habitat today. They are SDG 11 and the New Urban Agenda. This card shows what each one says and how they link.

What is SDG 11?

UN member states approved the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. SDG 11 is the dedicated urban goal. It calls on states to “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”.

SDG 11 has ten targets. They are 11.1 to 11.7, plus 11.a, 11.b and 11.c.

Target 11.1 covers housing. It reads: “By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums”.

What is the New Urban Agenda?

Habitat III was the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development. It met in Quito, Ecuador, from 17 to 20 October 2016. It adopted the New Urban Agenda, together with the Quito Declaration on Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for All.

The General Assembly endorsed the New Urban Agenda on 23 December 2016, in resolution 71/256.

UN-Habitat’s history page calls the Agenda an action-oriented document. It says the Agenda sets global standards for reaching SDG 11. Paragraph 9 of the Agenda says its implementation contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

How is progress checked?

Paragraphs 166 and 167 of the Agenda invite the General Assembly to request a report from the Secretary-General. The report would come every four years. The first would go to the Assembly’s 72nd session. Paragraph 175 asks that the report due in 2026 take stock of progress since the Agenda was adopted.

What is the 20-year rhythm?

Three UN conferences on cities took place in 1976, 1996 and 2016. They are each 20 years apart, by our own arithmetic.

• Habitat I, Vancouver, 1976: the Vancouver Declaration.
• Habitat II, Istanbul, 1996: the Istanbul Declaration and the Habitat Agenda.
• Habitat III, Quito, 2016: the New Urban Agenda.

UN-Habitat is paid for by the UN regular budget and by voluntary gifts. This card uses 2025 figures. They are interim, as at 31 December 2025. Final accounts may differ.

What are the five money streams?

UN-Habitat’s financial report lists five funding segments.

• Regular budget: UN regular budget appropriations, section 15.
• Foundation non-earmarked: UN-Habitat’s funding table calls this core funds.
• The other three: Foundation earmarked, technical cooperation and programme support funds.

How much came in during 2025?

Interim revenue for 2025 was about USD 185 million. The report was interim, pending financial statements due on 31 March 2026.

Who gave voluntary money?

The same report lists voluntary contributions by type of giver. The total was about USD 166.4 million.

• Central governments: USD 85.3 million.
• Intergovernmental bodies: USD 45.7 million.
• UN entities: USD 23.7 million.
• Foundations: USD 5.5 million.
• Local authorities: USD 4.2 million.
• Private sector: USD 1.2 million.
• Civil society: USD 0.9 million.

So partners are not only governments. Card 9 shows why this matters for UPSC.

How small is core money?

UN-Habitat’s funding status report counts non-earmarked gifts from Member States at USD 3.8 million in 2025. Only 31 of the 193 Member States gave core money. Another 161 did not, and one made a pledge.

The largest core givers were Germany at USD 1.16 million, Saudi Arabia at USD 0.5 million and China at USD 0.35 million. India gave USD 100,000.

The same report counts earmarked income agreements at about USD 186.9 million. The report lists Member States at USD 77.8 million and other partners at USD 108.2 million. Those two add to USD 186.0 million, so the report's parts differ from its total by about USD 0.9 million.

Our own sum puts non-earmarked gifts at about 2 per cent of non-earmarked plus earmarked agreements. The funding status report counts income agreements. The financial report counts revenue. Do not add figures from the two reports together.

Who are the big earmarked donors?

• Member States: Japan USD 19.77 million, Azerbaijan USD 13.09 million, Germany USD 9.14 million.
• Other partners: European Commission USD 46.02 million, UN agencies USD 22.97 million, Adaptation Fund USD 20.0 million.

By region, UN-Habitat allocates the earmarked income like this. Africa takes 38 per cent. The Arab States take 24 per cent. Global programmes take 17 per cent.

What does the General Assembly ask for?

Resolution 73/239 invites donors to give more voluntary money, especially non-earmarked money. It also asks the Executive Director to create an online registry of funding information.

UN-Habitat publishes a flagship report and hosts a global forum. It also leads a yearly day. This card covers all three.

What is the World Cities Report?

The World Cities Report is UN-Habitat’s flagship publication. A 2024 launch note says it is published every two years.

For the 2026 edition, UN-Habitat’s advisory of 18 May 2026 said it would launch the report at WUF13. The closing press release of 22 May 2026 says UN-Habitat launched the report during the forum.

What is the World Urban Forum?

General Assembly resolution 56/206 calls the Urban Forum a non-legislative technical forum. Resolution 73/239 calls the World Urban Forum an advocacy platform for all stakeholders. It adds that the forum is non-legislative.

The first session met in Nairobi from 29 April to 3 May 2002. South Africa’s Housing Minister chaired it.

What happened at WUF13 in Baku?

WUF13 ran from 17 to 22 May 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Its theme was “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities”.

• Attendance: over 57,000 participants, including over 3,000 online, from 176 countries. UN-Habitat calls it the largest World Urban Forum to date.
• Counts differ: the highlights sheet shows 58,000-plus participants and 85,000-plus registrations.
• Sessions: 579 sessions in the closing press release. The highlights sheet shows 577.
• Outcome: the Baku Call to Action, a stakeholder-driven document on housing.

Where is the forum going next?

UN-Habitat announced on 23 March 2026 that Mexico City will host WUF14 in 2028.

What is World Habitat Day?

The General Assembly decided in resolution 40/202 to mark the first Monday of October each year as World Habitat Day. It acted in line with Commission resolution 8/4 of 8 May 1985. The Day was first celebrated in 1986.

A UN-Habitat advisory of 1 October 2026 said the 2026 global observance would be held on 5 October in Muscat, Oman. The theme was “Adequate Housing for All”.

UN reports put numbers on the housing problem. The numbers differ from report to report. This card shows the range and the dates.

How many people live in slums?

The estimates run from 1.1 billion (UN-Habitat advisory, 18 May 2026) to more than 1.16 billion (UN-Habitat key facts, for 2024).

UN-Habitat’s key facts add that the 2024 figure is over 130 million more than in 2015.

How many people lack adequate housing?

Estimates run from 2.8 billion (September 2026) to nearly 3.4 billion (1 October 2026).

• Nearly 3 billion: close to 40 per cent of the world’s people, in the World Cities Report 2026 advisory of 18 May 2026.
• At least 3 billion: the SDG 11 Global Report 2026 key facts, which give no separate date for this figure.
• 2.8 billion: the Strategic Plan slides of September 2026.
• Nearly 3.4 billion: the World Habitat Day advisory of 1 October 2026.

How big is the shortage of homes now?

The World Cities Report 2026 advisory of 18 May 2026 gives the present shortage. It says housing shortages have risen by 30 per cent in just over a decade. They now stand above 268 million units.

What else does the SDG 11 report show?

UN-Habitat’s SDG 11 key facts of 2026 give these points.

• Public transport: convenient access in 414 cities rose from 53.2 per cent in 2020 to 61.5 per cent in 2025. Around 4 in 10 urban residents still lack it.
• Open public space: access in 412 sampled cities fell from about 48.0 per cent in 2020 to 45.9 per cent in 2025.
• Rent: nearly half of households worldwide spend more than 30 per cent of income on rent. The key facts give no separate year for this figure.
• Prices: the global house-price-to-income ratio rose from 9.3 in 2010 to 11.2 in 2023.

What could happen next?

The 2026 World Cities Report advisory of 18 May 2026 gives two forward-looking numbers.

• Growth: cities are expected to absorb 2 billion more residents by 2050.
• Climate: hazards could destroy 167 million homes by 2040.

India is a UN Member State, so it belongs to the Assembly. This card adds four India links. They run from 2015 to 2026.

Did an Indian minister lead the Governing Council?

Yes, in 2017. The 26th session of the Governing Council met in Nairobi in May 2017. At its first plenary meeting on 8 May 2017, the Council elected Venkaiah Naidu of India as its President.

Naidu was then Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation. PIB’s release called it only the third time India had been elected to lead the body, after 2007 and 1988.

The session’s theme was “Opportunities for effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda”. Naidu told the Council about India’s missions, including AMRUT, the Smart Cities Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission and Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

Which urban missions began in 2015?

On 25 June 2015, the Prime Minister launched three urban missions. They were the Smart Cities Mission, AMRUT and Housing for All in urban areas. A 2024 PIB release from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs marks their ninth anniversary. It gives 25 June 2015 as the launch date.

What does India give and where does it sit?

India gave USD 100,000 in core funds in 2025. It gave the same in 2023 and 2024. India is one of the 31 Member States that gave core money in 2025.

UN-Habitat’s note of 30 July 2026 does not name India among the Executive Board members for 2025 to 2029. India still belongs to the Assembly, which has all 193 Member States.

What happened at WUF13?

The India Pavilion opened at WUF13 in Baku on 18 May 2026. Ambassador Abhay Kumar inaugurated it, according to APA. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs set it up. Its theme was “India’s Urban Transformation: Housing a Billion Dreams”.

Both reports are press reports, not government releases.

The 2017 Prelims paper had one question on UN-Habitat. This lesson checked only that paper. This card shows the question and the official answer. It then lists the traps.

Which question was it?

How do the statements check out?

• Statement 1 holds. UN-Habitat’s history page says the General Assembly mandated it to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities.
• Statement 2 does not hold. UPSC’s key makes it false. UN-Habitat’s 2025 voluntary income came from governments, intergovernmental bodies, UN entities, foundations, local authorities, the private sector and civil society.
• Statement 3 holds. Resolution 73/239 names the eradication of poverty as the overarching objective of UN-Habitat’s work. UN-Habitat’s history page lists a target on safe drinking water and basic sanitation among the goals behind its mandate. A footnote there ties it to the World Summit on Sustainable Development Plan of Implementation.

The pages in this lesson do not use the words “adequate shelter for all” for statement 1. UN-Habitat’s mandate page does not list partner types either. So the checks on statements 1 and 2 rest on the official key and the funding data.

What are the traps?

1. “Only governments.” Partners are wider than governments and local authorities. Resolution 73/239 also encourages work with development banks and the private sector.
2. Start year. The Centre worked from 1978. The programme called UN-Habitat dates from 1 January 2002.
3. Governing Council. It was replaced by the UN-Habitat Assembly in 2019.
4. Headquarters. UN-Habitat is in Nairobi, Kenya.
5. Conference rhythm. Habitat I was 1976, Habitat II 1996 and Habitat III 2016.
6. Mixed-up numbers. Slum and housing figures differ by source. Always check the date of a figure.
7. Board and Assembly. The Assembly has all 193 Member States. UN-Habitat says the Executive Board has 36 (as at July 2026).