People not using improved sanitation facilities in Lesotho

Lesotho: People not using improved sanitation facilities was 766,187 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
766,187 people
Change on year
down 4.5%
World rank
64th
of 232 countries
All-time high
1.60 million people
in 2000
All-time low
766,187 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2000201220242000: 1.6M people2001: 1.6M people2002: 1.5M people2003: 1.5M people2004: 1.4M people2005: 1.4M people2006: 1.3M people2007: 1.3M people2008: 1.3M people2009: 1.2M people2010: 1.2M people2011: 1.2M people2012: 1.1M people2013: 1.1M people2014: 1.1M people2015: 1.1M people2016: 1.0M people2017: 996.9k people2018: 967.1k people2019: 936.1k people2020: 904.2k people2021: 871.3k people2022: 836.9k people2023: 801.9k people2024: 766.2k people

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

Analysis

Lesotho recorded 766,187 people for people not using improved sanitation facilities in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and down 29.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using improved sanitation facilities in Lesotho peaked at 1.60 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 766,187 people, in 2024.

Lesotho ranks 64th of 232 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.40 million people 1.22 million people 1.60 million people 10
2010s 1.07 million people 936,070 people 1.19 million people 10
2020s 836,099 people 766,187 people 904,249 people 5

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 61 Argentina 1.27 million people compare
  2. 62 Guinea-Bissau 1.16 million people compare
  3. 63 Gambia 1.11 million people compare
  4. 65 Honduras 739,787 people compare
  5. 66 Iraq 688,442 people compare
  6. 67 Laos 678,318 people compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More reference data data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using improved sanitation facilities in Lesotho?
People not using improved sanitation facilities in Lesotho was 766,187 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 Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 1.60 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest people not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 766,187 people in 2024.
How does Lesotho rank for people not using improved sanitation facilities?
Lesotho ranks 64th out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Lesotho 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.