Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan

Bhutan: Rural population without basic handwashing facilities was 18,622 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
18,622 people
Change on year
down 25.0%
World rank
103rd
of 113 countries
All-time high
121,738 people
in 2007
All-time low
18,622 people
in 2024
Years of data
21
2004–2024

Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan, 2004–2024

25.0k50.0k75.0k100.0k125.0k2004201420242004: 121.2k people2005: 121.4k people2006: 121.7k people2007: 121.7k people2008: 121.7k people2009: 115.3k people2010: 108.8k people2011: 102.3k people2012: 95.8k people2013: 89.3k people2014: 82.9k people2015: 76.4k people2016: 69.9k people2017: 63.3k people2018: 56.7k people2019: 50.2k people2020: 43.7k people2021: 37.4k people2022: 31.1k people2023: 24.8k people2024: 18.6k people

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan is 18,622 people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.

That represents a change of down 25.0% on the previous year and down 77.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan peaked at 121,738 people in 2007 and was at its lowest, 18,622 people, in 2024.

Bhutan ranks 103rd of 113 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.

Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan, year by year

Annual values for Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan, 2004 to 2024.
Year people Change
2004 121,249 people
2005 121,373 people +0.1%
2006 121,680 people +0.3%
2007 121,738 people +0.0%
2008 121,722 people -0.0%
2009 115,271 people -5.3%
2010 108,786 people -5.6%
2011 102,286 people -6.0%
2012 95,806 people -6.3%
2013 89,340 people -6.7%
2014 82,865 people -7.2%
2015 76,360 people -7.9%
2016 69,854 people -8.5%
2017 63,312 people -9.4%
2018 56,737 people -10.4%
2019 50,202 people -11.5%
2020 43,746 people -12.9%
2021 37,371 people -14.6%
2022 31,062 people -16.9%
2023 24,815 people -20.1%
2024 18,622 people -25.0%

Bhutan compared with similar countries

  • Bhutan's 18,622 people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 3.83 million people, 0% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
  • Bhutan's 18,622 people is below the median for South Asia, which is 5.21 million people, 0% of the median. (6 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 120,506 people 115,271 people 121,738 people 6
2010s 79,555 people 50,202 people 108,786 people 10
2020s 31,123 people 18,622 people 43,746 people 5

Countries ranked near Bhutan

  1. 100 Sao Tome and Principe 30,802 people compare
  2. 101 Belize 24,423 people compare
  3. 102 Kiribati 23,152 people compare
  4. 104 Saint Lucia 18,319 people compare
  5. 105 Tonga 16,352 people compare
  6. 106 Maldives 15,279 people compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More reference data data for Bhutan

All data for Bhutan →

Frequently asked questions

What is rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan?
Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan was 18,622 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 Bhutan?
The highest recorded value was 121,738 people in 2007.
What is the lowest rural population without basic handwashing facilities recorded in Bhutan?
The lowest recorded value was 18,622 people in 2024.
How does Bhutan rank for rural population without basic handwashing facilities?
Bhutan ranks 103rd out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
Is rural population without basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Bhutan?
Over the last ten years it is down 77.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bhutan 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.

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Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Bhutan. Statizoid, drawing on WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rural-without-basic-handwashing/bhutan/

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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.