Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Malawi
Malawi: Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas was 2.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Malawi, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Malawi stood at 2.2%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 21.6% on the previous year and down 73.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Malawi peaked at 16.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 2024.
Malawi ranks 72nd of 175 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.
Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 16.7% | — |
| 2001 | 16.1% | -3.6% |
| 2002 | 15.5% | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 14.9% | -3.9% |
| 2004 | 14.3% | -4.1% |
| 2005 | 13.7% | -4.2% |
| 2006 | 13.1% | -4.4% |
| 2007 | 12.5% | -4.6% |
| 2008 | 11.9% | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 11.2% | -5.1% |
| 2010 | 10.6% | -5.4% |
| 2011 | 10.0% | -5.7% |
| 2012 | 9.4% | -6.0% |
| 2013 | 8.8% | -6.4% |
| 2014 | 8.2% | -6.8% |
| 2015 | 7.6% | -7.3% |
| 2016 | 7.0% | -7.9% |
| 2017 | 6.4% | -8.6% |
| 2018 | 5.8% | -9.4% |
| 2019 | 5.2% | -10.4% |
| 2020 | 4.6% | -11.6% |
| 2021 | 4.0% | -13.1% |
| 2022 | 3.4% | -15.1% |
| 2023 | 2.8% | -17.7% |
| 2024 | 2.2% | -21.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 2.2% is below the median for low income countries, which is 20.4%, 11% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 2.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.7%, 11% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 14.0% | 11.2% | 16.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.9% | 5.2% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.4% | 2.2% | 4.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More reference data data for Malawi
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1596 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3426 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.6012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.87 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Malawi?
- Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas in Malawi was 2.2% 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 open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 16.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 2024.
- How does Malawi rank for open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas?
- Malawi ranks 72nd out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
- Is open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 73.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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 Open defecation in rural areas vs. urban areas. 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
Share of people who practice open defecation. This includes defecating in fields, forests, bushes, bodies of water or other open spaces, not using any sanitation facilities.