People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities by country

If no improved sanitation facility is available, people might practice open defecation or use unimproved sanitation facilities.

Countries reporting
172
Highest
97.69 million people
India
Lowest
0 people
Tokelau
Median
128,438 people
Years covered
25
2000–2024
Data points
4,269

What the numbers show

People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities is currently reported for 172 countries. The highest value is 97.69 million people in India; the lowest is 0 people in Tokelau.

The median across all reporting countries is 128,438 people, and the mean is 4.23 million people.

Over the past decade 39 countries rose and 120 fell. The largest increase was in Israel (up 272.0%), and the largest decrease in Albania (down 100.0%).

People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 India 97.69 million people 2024 down 76.1% falling
2 Ethiopia 92.14 million people 2024 up 19.1% rising
3 Nigeria 61.74 million people 2024 up 7.5% rising
4 Democratic Republic of Congo 45.12 million people 2024 up 35.5% rising
5 Pakistan 41.11 million people 2024 down 35.8% falling
6 Tanzania 28.10 million people 2024 up 0.7% rising
7 Uganda 24.65 million people 2024 up 17.5% rising
8 Niger 19.16 million people 2024 up 32.4% rising
9 Kenya 16.01 million people 2024 down 9.3% flat
10 Mozambique 15.74 million people 2024 up 9.6% rising
11 Bangladesh 14.76 million people 2024 down 63.5% falling
12 Chad 14.32 million people 2024 up 39.2% rising
13 Madagascar 13.87 million people 2024 up 4.0% rising
14 Sudan 13.37 million people 2024 down 21.5% falling
15 Afghanistan 12.94 million people 2024 down 8.9% rising
16 China 12.25 million people 2024 down 91.7% volatile
17 Yemen 11.86 million people 2024 up 3.0% rising
18 Russia 10.47 million people 2024 down 5.9% falling
19 Brazil 8.17 million people 2024 down 37.2% falling
20 Burkina Faso 8.14 million people 2024 down 13.9% falling
21 South Sudan 8.11 million people 2024 down 1.5% flat
22 Angola 8.01 million people 2022 up 10.0% rising
23 Cote d'Ivoire 7.92 million people 2024 down 4.5% falling
24 Indonesia 7.90 million people 2024 down 79.0% falling
25 Cameroon 7.72 million people 2024 up 14.5% rising
26 Papua New Guinea 6.84 million people 2024 up 13.0% rising
27 Myanmar 6.61 million people 2024 down 20.2% falling
28 Zambia 6.57 million people 2024 down 0.2% rising
29 Mali 6.27 million people 2024 down 10.3% falling
30 Ghana 6.25 million people 2024 down 6.8% flat
31 Burundi 5.70 million people 2024 up 23.8% rising
32 Zimbabwe 5.56 million people 2024 up 15.7% rising
33 Benin 5.39 million people 2024 up 7.9% rising
34 Guinea 5.37 million people 2024 down 0.2% flat
35 Somalia 5.04 million people 2024 down 1.8% falling
36 Malawi 4.69 million people 2024 down 38.6% falling
37 Togo 4.11 million people 2024 up 9.3% rising
38 Morocco 3.62 million people 2024 down 18.0% falling
39 Senegal 3.34 million people 2024 down 16.6% falling
40 South Africa 3.31 million people 2024 down 41.9% falling
41 Philippines 3.13 million people 2024 down 59.9% falling
42 Sierra Leone 2.87 million people 2024 up 1.0% rising
43 Haiti 2.78 million people 2024 down 18.7% falling
44 North Korea 2.62 million people 2023 down 6.2% falling
45 Central African Republic 2.61 million people 2024 up 7.3% rising
46 Vietnam 2.47 million people 2024 down 84.8% volatile
47 Guatemala 2.44 million people 2024 down 20.1% falling
48 Peru 2.34 million people 2024 down 26.7% falling
49 Egypt 2.09 million people 2024 up 20.9% rising
50 Liberia 1.92 million people 2024 up 7.1% rising
51 Eritrea 1.77 million people 2016 up 0.9% rising
52 Congo 1.59 million people 2021 up 11.2% rising
53 Romania 1.58 million people 2024 down 46.5% falling
54 Bolivia 1.50 million people 2024 down 27.1% falling
55 Mauritania 1.37 million people 2024 down 3.8% falling
56 Cambodia 1.30 million people 2024 down 78.0% falling
57 Colombia 1.06 million people 2024 down 45.0% falling
58 Namibia 947,581 people 2024 down 1.5% falling
59 Algeria 945,222 people 2024 down 26.9% falling
60 United States 909,537 people 2024 up 208.1% volatile
61 Guinea-Bissau 890,478 people 2024 up 4.6% rising
62 Argentina 719,188 people 2016 down 21.3% falling
63 Laos 678,318 people 2024 down 64.7% falling
64 Gambia 655,420 people 2024 up 44.9% rising
65 Lesotho 654,622 people 2024 down 28.7% falling
66 Honduras 497,194 people 2024 down 49.6% falling
67 Solomon Islands 469,132 people 2024 up 20.4% rising
68 Nepal 426,800 people 2024 down 94.7% volatile
69 Mongolia 366,299 people 2024 down 5.7% falling
70 Panama 361,254 people 2024 down 24.7% falling
71 Ecuador 352,323 people 2024 down 65.6% falling
72 Iraq 305,136 people 2024 down 77.9% volatile
73 Georgia 279,597 people 2024 down 32.5% falling
74 Turkey 247,527 people 2024 down 87.9% volatile
75 Moldova 238,703 people 2024 down 45.7% falling
76 Botswana 192,737 people 2024 down 35.0% falling
77 Djibouti 187,319 people 2023 up 2.8% rising
78 Comoros 171,732 people 2024 down 32.4% falling
79 East Timor 169,853 people 2024 down 60.2% falling
80 Equatorial Guinea 161,933 people 2017 down 5.6% falling
81 Armenia 154,504 people 2024 down 11.9% falling
82 Gabon 154,235 people 2024 down 14.6% falling
83 Rwanda 146,381 people 2024 down 93.2% falling
84 Uzbekistan 136,792 people 2024 down 75.0% falling
85 Dominican Republic 132,877 people 2024 down 48.1% falling
86 Serbia 128,925 people 2024 up 0.4% rising
87 Bosnia and Herzegovina 127,952 people 2018 down 16.2% falling
88 Eswatini 115,473 people 2024 down 39.5% falling
89 Cuba 91,833 people 2024 down 56.1% falling
90 Canada 88,810 people 2024 up 33.1% rising
91 Vanuatu 82,984 people 2024 up 20.0% rising
92 Latvia 81,054 people 2024 down 31.0% falling
93 Azerbaijan 59,330 people 2024 down 92.0% volatile
94 Lithuania 49,368 people 2024 down 68.1% volatile
95 Tajikistan 41,064 people 2023 down 76.3% volatile
97 Croatia 39,802 people 2021 down 12.8% falling
98 El Salvador 36,926 people 2024 down 81.6% volatile
99 Cape Verde 36,878 people 2024 down 52.1% falling
100 Paraguay 33,929 people 2024 down 93.1% volatile
101 Saudi Arabia 31,473 people 2024 up 1.9% flat
102 Sao Tome and Principe 30,379 people 2024 down 22.7% falling
103 Kiribati 29,694 people 2024 down 17.1% falling
104 Belize 27,996 people 2024 up 33.1% rising
105 Syria 23,943 people 2024 down 91.2% volatile
106 United Kingdom 23,514 people 2024 down 8.6% falling
107 Tunisia 21,675 people 2024 down 95.9% volatile
108 Belarus 19,324 people 2024 down 45.5% falling
109 Suriname 18,657 people 2024 down 37.1% falling
110 Costa Rica 15,709 people 2024 down 70.1% volatile
111 Palestine 15,291 people 2024 down 21.5% falling
112 Trinidad and Tobago 13,679 people 2024 up 108.0% rising
113 Jamaica 12,918 people 2024 down 56.1% falling
114 Jordan 12,181 people 2024 up 10.4% falling
115 Montenegro 12,115 people 2024 down 27.5% falling
116 Saint Lucia 10,343 people 2022 down 1.7% rising
117 North Macedonia 9,895 people 2024 down 79.7% volatile
118 Mauritius 8,880 people 2024 down 43.9% falling
119 Ukraine 8,765 people 2024 down 97.8% volatile
120 Sweden 8,468 people 2024 down 0.1% rising
121 Bhutan 8,412 people 2024 down 93.4% volatile
122 Israel 7,502 people 2024 up 272.0% volatile
123 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5,969 people 2018 down 48.9% falling
124 Cyprus 4,849 people 2024 up 52.2% rising
125 Marshall Islands 1,942 people 2024 down 51.0% falling
126 Tonga 1,489 people 2024 down 73.7% falling
127 United Arab Emirates 996.28 people 2024 up 9.8% rising
128 Samoa 830.2 people 2024 down 70.9% falling
129 Wallis and Futuna 794.47 people 2024 up 12.1% rising
130 Estonia 719.85 people 2024 down 52.5% falling
131 Slovakia 573.19 people 2024 down 63.3% volatile
132 Cook Islands 129.07 people 2024 down 69.6% falling
133 Tuvalu 124.83 people 2024 down 72.4% falling
134 Netherlands 82.58 people 2024 down 21.1% rising
135 Turks and Caicos Islands 59.43 people 2024 down 9.6% falling
136 Palau 47.73 people 2024 down 83.9% volatile
137 Bulgaria 13.38 people 2024 down 25.7% falling
139 Belgium 6.55 people 2024 down 60.4% falling
140 Finland 1.7 people 2024 down 8.5% falling
141 Albania 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Andorra 0 people 2024 flat
141 Antigua and Barbuda 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Austria 0 people 2024 volatile
141 Switzerland 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Chile 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Czechia 0 people 2024 volatile
141 Germany 0 people 2024 flat
141 Denmark 0 people 2024 flat
141 Spain 0 people 2024 volatile
141 Fiji 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 France 0 people 2024 flat
141 Greece 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Guyana 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Hungary 0 people 2024 flat
141 Iran 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Iceland 0 people 2024 flat
141 Italy 0 people 2024 flat
141 Kazakhstan 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Kyrgyzstan 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Sri Lanka 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Maldives 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Mexico 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Malaysia 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Norway 0 people 2024 flat
141 New Zealand 0 people 2024 flat
141 Oman 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Poland 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Portugal 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Thailand 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Turkmenistan 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Uruguay 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
141 Falkland Islands 0 people 2024 flat
141 Tokelau 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile

About this data

Indicator
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation 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
175 places, 4,269 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

If no improved sanitation facility is available, people might practice open defecation or use unimproved sanitation facilities.