People without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: People without basic handwashing facilities was 20.50 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
20.50 million people
Change on year
up 0.7%
World rank
19th
of 120 countries
All-time high
20.50 million people
in 2024
All-time low
15.78 million people
in 2005
Years of data
20
2005–2024

People without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan, 2005–2024

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M2005201420242005: 15.8M people2006: 16.4M people2007: 16.7M people2008: 17.1M people2009: 17.7M people2010: 17.9M people2011: 18.2M people2012: 18.6M people2013: 18.9M people2014: 19.3M people2015: 19.5M people2016: 19.6M people2017: 19.8M people2018: 20.0M people2019: 20.2M people2020: 20.4M people2021: 20.5M people2022: 20.3M people2023: 20.4M people2024: 20.5M 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 without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan stood at 20.50 million people. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 6.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan peaked at 20.50 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 15.78 million people, in 2005.

That places Afghanistan 19th out of 120 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 16.73 million people 15.78 million people 17.67 million people 5
2010s 19.20 million people 17.87 million people 20.18 million people 10
2020s 20.41 million people 20.34 million people 20.50 million people 5

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 16 Kenya 23.98 million people compare
  2. 17 Angola 23.89 million people compare
  3. 18 Niger 21.21 million people compare
  4. 20 Mali 19.08 million people compare
  5. 21 Ghana 18.77 million people compare
  6. 22 Malawi 18.32 million people compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is people without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan?
People without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan was 20.50 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 without basic handwashing facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 20.50 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people without basic handwashing facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 15.78 million people in 2005.
How does Afghanistan rank for people without basic handwashing facilities?
Afghanistan ranks 19th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
Is people without basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
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 without basic handwashing facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
People without basic handwashing 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
120 places, 1,792 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

People without access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.