People not using improved sanitation facilities in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: People not using improved sanitation facilities was 13.39 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
13.39 million people
Change on year
down 2.9%
World rank
18th
of 232 countries
All-time high
16.27 million people
in 2014
All-time low
13.39 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People not using improved sanitation facilities in Afghanistan, 2000–2024

05.0M10.0M15.0M2000201220242000: 14.6M people2001: 14.7M people2002: 15.1M people2003: 15.7M people2004: 15.9M people2005: 16.0M people2006: 16.2M people2007: 16.1M people2008: 16.0M people2009: 16.1M people2010: 16.0M people2011: 16.1M people2012: 16.3M people2013: 16.3M people2014: 16.3M people2015: 16.2M people2016: 16.0M people2017: 15.8M people2018: 15.6M people2019: 15.4M people2020: 15.2M people2021: 14.8M people2022: 14.2M people2023: 13.8M people2024: 13.4M people

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for people not using improved sanitation facilities in Afghanistan is 13.39 million people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.9% on the previous year and down 17.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using improved sanitation facilities in Afghanistan peaked at 16.27 million people in 2014 and was at its lowest, 13.39 million people, in 2024.

Afghanistan ranks 18th of 232 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 15.64 million people 14.61 million people 16.22 million people 10
2010s 15.98 million people 15.37 million people 16.27 million people 10
2020s 14.27 million people 13.39 million people 15.15 million people 5

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 15 Sudan 15.27 million people compare
  2. 16 Indonesia 14.82 million people compare
  3. 17 Yemen 13.40 million people compare
  4. 19 China 12.25 million people compare
  5. 20 Russia 11.27 million people compare
  6. 21 Angola 10.38 million people compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using improved sanitation facilities in Afghanistan?
People not using improved sanitation facilities in Afghanistan was 13.39 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 not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 16.27 million people in 2014.
What is the lowest people not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 13.39 million people in 2024.
How does Afghanistan rank for people not using improved sanitation facilities?
Afghanistan ranks 18th out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Afghanistan 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 not using improved 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 not using improved 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

If no improved sanitation facility is available, people might practice open defecation or use unimproved sanitation facilities.