People using at least basic sanitation facilities in Zambia

Zambia: People using at least basic sanitation facilities was 7.99 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
7.99 million people
Change on year
up 4.9%
World rank
88th
of 232 countries
All-time high
7.99 million people
in 2024
All-time low
2.11 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People using at least basic sanitation facilities in Zambia, 2000–2024

2.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M2000201220242000: 2.1M people2001: 2.2M people2002: 2.4M people2003: 2.5M people2004: 2.7M people2005: 2.9M people2006: 3.1M people2007: 3.3M people2008: 3.5M people2009: 3.7M people2010: 3.9M people2011: 4.2M people2012: 4.4M people2013: 4.6M people2014: 4.9M people2015: 5.2M people2016: 5.4M people2017: 5.7M people2018: 6.0M people2019: 6.3M people2020: 6.6M people2021: 6.9M people2022: 7.3M people2023: 7.6M people2024: 8.0M people

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2024, people using at least basic sanitation facilities in Zambia stood at 7.99 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 4.9% on the previous year and up 63.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people using at least basic sanitation facilities in Zambia peaked at 7.99 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.11 million people, in 2000.

That places Zambia 88th out of 232 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.84 million people 2.11 million people 3.70 million people 10
2010s 5.05 million people 3.92 million people 6.28 million people 10
2020s 7.27 million people 6.57 million people 7.99 million people 5

Countries ranked near Zambia

  1. 85 Switzerland 8.91 million people compare
  2. 86 Bolivia 8.89 million people compare
  3. 87 Somalia 8.45 million people compare
  4. 89 Burkina Faso 7.49 million people compare
  5. 90 Turkmenistan 7.47 million people compare
  6. 91 Kyrgyzstan 7.08 million people compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More reference data data for Zambia

All data for Zambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people using at least basic sanitation facilities in Zambia?
People using at least basic sanitation facilities in Zambia was 7.99 million people in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest people using at least basic sanitation facilities recorded in Zambia?
The highest recorded value was 7.99 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people using at least basic sanitation facilities recorded in Zambia?
The lowest recorded value was 2.11 million people in 2000.
How does Zambia rank for people using at least basic sanitation facilities?
Zambia ranks 88th out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is people using at least basic sanitation facilities rising or falling in Zambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 63.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Zambia data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of People using at least basic sanitation facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
People using at least basic sanitation facilities
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
232 places, 5,597 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people using improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households.