People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Bangladesh

Bangladesh: People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities was 14.76 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
14.76 million people
Change on year
down 14.3%
World rank
11th
of 175 countries
All-time high
74.17 million people
in 2000
All-time low
14.76 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Bangladesh, 2000–2024

20.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M2000201220242000: 74.2M people2001: 72.4M people2002: 70.4M people2003: 68.3M people2004: 66.0M people2005: 63.7M people2006: 61.3M people2007: 58.8M people2008: 56.2M people2009: 53.6M people2010: 50.9M people2011: 48.3M people2012: 45.7M people2013: 43.1M people2014: 40.4M people2015: 37.8M people2016: 35.2M people2017: 32.6M people2018: 29.9M people2019: 27.3M people2020: 24.8M people2021: 22.2M people2022: 19.7M people2023: 17.2M people2024: 14.8M 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 people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Bangladesh is 14.76 million people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is down 14.3% on the previous year and down 63.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Bangladesh peaked at 74.17 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 14.76 million people, in 2024.

Bangladesh ranks 11th of 175 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 64.47 million people 53.57 million people 74.17 million people 10
2010s 39.11 million people 27.34 million people 50.92 million people 10
2020s 19.72 million people 14.76 million people 24.76 million people 5

Countries ranked near Bangladesh

  1. 8 Niger 19.16 million people compare
  2. 9 Kenya 16.01 million people compare
  3. 10 Mozambique 15.74 million people compare
  4. 12 Chad 14.32 million people compare
  5. 13 Madagascar 13.87 million people compare
  6. 14 Sudan 13.37 million people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Bangladesh

All data for Bangladesh →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Bangladesh?
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Bangladesh was 14.76 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 people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Bangladesh?
The highest recorded value was 74.17 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Bangladesh?
The lowest recorded value was 14.76 million people in 2024.
How does Bangladesh rank for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities?
Bangladesh ranks 11th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Bangladesh?
Over the last ten years it is down 63.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Bangladesh 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 People in rural areas not using improved sanitation 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

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.