Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in India
India: Rural population without basic handwashing facilities was 128.97 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in India, 2010–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
India recorded 128.97 million people for rural population without basic handwashing facilities in 2024.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 73.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population without basic handwashing facilities in India peaked at 490.12 million people in 2014 and was at its lowest, 128.84 million people, in 2023.
India ranks 1st of 113 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 428.36 million people | 294.64 million people | 490.12 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 178.85 million people | 128.84 million people | 253.72 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
More reference data data for India
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.8635 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.6189 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.0088 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.3046 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.2053 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 233.06 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population without basic handwashing facilities in India?
- Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in India was 128.97 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 490.12 million people in 2014.
- What is the lowest rural population without basic handwashing facilities recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 128.84 million people in 2023.
- How does India rank for rural population without basic handwashing facilities?
- India ranks 1st out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rural population without basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 73.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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 — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
People without access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.