Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Ghana

Ghana: Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas was 55.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
55.0%
Change on year
up 2.5%
World rank
74th
of 113 countries
All-time high
55.0%
in 2024
All-time low
43.1%
in 2011
Years of data
14
2011–2024

Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Ghana, 2011–2024

02040602011201720242011: 43.1 %2012: 43.1 %2013: 43.1 %2014: 43.1 %2015: 43.1 %2016: 44.4 %2017: 45.7 %2018: 47 %2019: 48.4 %2020: 49.7 %2021: 51 %2022: 52.3 %2023: 53.7 %2024: 55 %

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Ghana is 55.0%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.5% on the previous year and up 27.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Ghana peaked at 55.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 43.1%, in 2011.

That places Ghana 74th out of 113 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 44.5% 43.1% 48.4% 9
2020s 52.3% 49.7% 55.0% 5

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 71 Mauritania 57.6% compare
  2. 72 Congo 56.1% compare
  3. 73 Zimbabwe 55.7% compare
  4. 75 South Africa 52.6% compare
  5. 76 Dominican Republic 51.2% compare
  6. 77 Gabon 49.7% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Ghana?
Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas in Ghana was 55.0% 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 Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 55.0% in 2024.
What is the lowest access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 43.1% in 2011.
How does Ghana rank for access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas?
Ghana ranks 74th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
Is access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is up 27.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ghana 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 — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Access to basic handwashing facilities in urban vs. rural areas
Unit
%
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
113 places, 1,688 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.