People without basic handwashing facilities in India

India: People without basic handwashing facilities was 149.56 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
149.56 million people
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
2nd
of 120 countries
All-time high
595.21 million people
in 2014
All-time low
148.98 million people
in 2023
Years of data
15
2010–2024

People without basic handwashing facilities in India, 2010–2024

100.0M200.0M300.0M400.0M500.0M600.0M2010201720242010: 569.5M people2011: 576.3M people2012: 582.9M people2013: 589.3M people2014: 595.2M people2015: 549.8M people2016: 503.5M people2017: 456.0M people2018: 407.3M people2019: 357.5M people2020: 306.7M people2021: 254.7M people2022: 202.1M people2023: 149.0M people2024: 149.6M people

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

Analysis

India recorded 149.56 million people for people without basic handwashing facilities in 2024.

The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 74.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people without basic handwashing facilities in India peaked at 595.21 million people in 2014 and was at its lowest, 148.98 million people, in 2023.

India ranks 2nd of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 518.74 million people 357.52 million people 595.21 million people 10
2020s 212.40 million people 148.98 million people 306.68 million people 5

Countries ranked near India

  1. 1 Nigeria 159.83 million people compare
  2. 3 Ethiopia 124.33 million people compare
  3. 4 Democratic Republic of Congo 82.58 million people compare
  4. 5 Indonesia 57.32 million people compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is people without basic handwashing facilities in India?
People without basic handwashing facilities in India was 149.56 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 India?
The highest recorded value was 595.21 million people in 2014.
What is the lowest people without basic handwashing facilities recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 148.98 million people in 2023.
How does India rank for people without basic handwashing facilities?
India ranks 2nd out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
Is people without basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is down 74.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this India 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 — 15 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.