# Prevalence of housing structure and quality indicators in India: An assessment of changes across 720 districts between 2016 and 2021

## TL;DR

This study examines changes in housing quality across 720 Indian districts from 2016 to 2021, finding improvements but persistent rural-urban disparities.

## Contribution

The study reveals increasing within-district inequality in housing quality despite overall improvements in many districts.

## Key findings

- Urban finished housing increased slightly from 82.9% in 2016 to 83.2% in 2021.
- Rural finished housing rose significantly from 41.3% in 2016 to 48.5% in 2021.
- Within-district inequality increased in many districts with overall housing quality improvements.

## Abstract

The extent to which a house is structurally sound is an important marker of housing quality and a determinant of human health. In India, the share of homes that are structurally sound has increased considerably over the past few decades, yet geographical variations persist especially between urban and rural communities. Using data from two rounds of India's National Family Health Survey in 2016 and 2021, we estimated a multilevel model using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo procedure to examine changes in the share of finished, semi-finished, and rudimentary housing in urban and rural communities across India's 720 districts. In urban communities, the share of finished housing increased slightly from 82.9 % (95 % CI: 82.7–83.1) in 2016 to 83.2 % (95 % CI: 83.0–83.4) in 2021. In rural communities, the share of finished housing increased from 41.3 % (95 % CI: 41.1–41.4) in 2016 to 48.5 % (95 % CI: 48.3–48.6) in 2021. However, we found substantial between-district disparities, and that the between-community variation increased in many of the districts that experienced overall improvements in housing quality for all three measures of housing quality between 2016 and 2021. District administrations in India can use these results to understand the quality of housing in their jurisdictions. These results can help district administrators work with national policy makers to refine policies aimed at improving housing quality.

•Access to safe housing is a fundamental human right and a major Sustainable Development Goal.•However, progress towards safe housing has been unequal across and within India's 720 districts.•Within-district inequality increased in many districts that experienced overall improvements in safe housing.•We also show that safe housing remains most out of reach of India's rural residents.•Ensuring access to safe housing is critical in both urban and rural communities throughout India.

Access to safe housing is a fundamental human right and a major Sustainable Development Goal.

However, progress towards safe housing has been unequal across and within India's 720 districts.

Within-district inequality increased in many districts that experienced overall improvements in safe housing.

We also show that safe housing remains most out of reach of India's rural residents.

Ensuring access to safe housing is critical in both urban and rural communities throughout India.