Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas was 60.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Afghanistan, 2005–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 60.1% for access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Afghanistan peaked at 66.1% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 60.1%, in 2024.
Afghanistan ranks 70th of 113 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 66.1% | — |
| 2006 | 66.1% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 66.1% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 66.1% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 66.1% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 65.7% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 65.3% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 64.9% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 64.5% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 64.1% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 63.7% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 63.3% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 62.9% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 62.5% | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 62.1% | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 61.7% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 61.3% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 60.9% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 60.5% | -0.7% |
| 2024 | 60.1% | -0.7% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 60.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 28.7%, 2.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 60.1% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 89.8%, 67% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 66.1% | 66.1% | 66.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 63.9% | 62.1% | 65.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 60.9% | 60.1% | 61.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More reference data data for Afghanistan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.8991 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4362 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 6.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.847 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 18.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 26.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.38 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Afghanistan?
- Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Afghanistan was 60.1% 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 access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 66.1% in 2005.
- What is the lowest access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.1% in 2024.
- How does Afghanistan rank for access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas?
- Afghanistan ranks 70th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.2%. 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 Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas. 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
Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.