Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Malawi
Malawi: Rural population without basic handwashing facilities was 15.42 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Malawi, 2000–2024
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 Malawi stood at 15.42 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 26.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Malawi peaked at 15.42 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.45 million people, in 2000.
Malawi ranks 16th of 113 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Malawi, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 8.45 million people | — |
| 2001 | 8.65 million people | +2.3% |
| 2002 | 8.86 million people | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 9.07 million people | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 9.30 million people | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 9.54 million people | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 9.80 million people | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 10.07 million people | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 10.35 million people | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 10.65 million people | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 10.95 million people | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 11.26 million people | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 11.57 million people | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 11.88 million people | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 12.19 million people | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 12.51 million people | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 12.82 million people | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 13.14 million people | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 13.46 million people | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 13.78 million people | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 14.11 million people | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 14.43 million people | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 14.75 million people | +2.2% |
| 2023 | 15.08 million people | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 15.42 million people | +2.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 15.42 million people is above the median for low income countries, which is 11.31 million people, 1.4× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 15.42 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8.33 million people, 1.9× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.47 million people | 8.45 million people | 10.65 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.36 million people | 10.95 million people | 13.78 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.76 million people | 14.11 million people | 15.42 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 13 Niger 17.94 million people compare
- 14 Madagascar 15.94 million people compare
- 15 Afghanistan 15.86 million people compare
- 17 South Africa 14.34 million people compare
- 18 Cote d'Ivoire 13.15 million people compare
- 19 Burkina Faso 12.42 million people compare
More reference data data for Malawi
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1596 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3426 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.6012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.87 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Malawi?
- Rural population without basic handwashing facilities in Malawi was 15.42 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 15.42 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest rural population without basic handwashing facilities recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.45 million people in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for rural population without basic handwashing facilities?
- Malawi ranks 16th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is rural population without basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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 — 25 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.