Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Rural population without basic handwashing facilities was 15.86 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
15.86 million people
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
15th
of 113 countries
All-time high
16.52 million people
in 2020
All-time low
13.90 million people
in 2005
Years of data
20
2005–2024

Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan, 2005–2024

05.0M10.0M15.0M2005201420242005: 13.9M people2006: 14.4M people2007: 14.7M people2008: 15.0M people2009: 15.5M people2010: 15.6M people2011: 15.8M people2012: 16.0M people2013: 16.2M people2014: 16.4M people2015: 16.5M people2016: 16.4M people2017: 16.4M people2018: 16.5M people2019: 16.5M people2020: 16.5M people2021: 16.4M people2022: 16.1M people2023: 15.9M people2024: 15.9M 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, rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan stood at 15.86 million people.

That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 3.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan peaked at 16.52 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 13.90 million people, in 2005.

That places Afghanistan 15th out of 113 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 14.69 million people 13.90 million people 15.48 million people 5
2010s 16.22 million people 15.57 million people 16.48 million people 10
2020s 16.17 million people 15.86 million people 16.52 million people 5

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 12 Mozambique 18.94 million people compare
  2. 13 Niger 17.94 million people compare
  3. 14 Madagascar 15.94 million people compare
  4. 16 Malawi 15.42 million people compare
  5. 17 South Africa 14.34 million people compare
  6. 18 Cote d'Ivoire 13.15 million people compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan?
Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan was 15.86 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 rural population without basic handwashing facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 16.52 million people in 2020.
What is the lowest rural population without basic handwashing facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 13.90 million people in 2005.
How does Afghanistan rank for rural population without basic handwashing facilities?
Afghanistan ranks 15th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
Is rural population without basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 3.1%. 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 Rural population 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
Rural population 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
113 places, 1,715 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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