People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Colombia

Colombia: People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities was 1.06 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.06 million people
Change on year
down 7.5%
World rank
57th
of 175 countries
All-time high
3.27 million people
in 2000
All-time low
1.06 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M3.0M3.5M2000201220242000: 3.3M people2001: 3.2M people2002: 3.1M people2003: 3.0M people2004: 2.9M people2005: 2.8M people2006: 2.7M people2007: 2.6M people2008: 2.5M people2009: 2.4M people2010: 2.3M people2011: 2.2M people2012: 2.1M people2013: 2.0M people2014: 1.9M people2015: 1.8M people2016: 1.7M people2017: 1.7M people2018: 1.6M people2019: 1.5M people2020: 1.4M people2021: 1.3M people2022: 1.2M people2023: 1.1M people2024: 1.1M people

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

Analysis

Colombia recorded 1.06 million people for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 7.5% on the previous year and down 45.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Colombia peaked at 3.27 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.06 million people, in 2024.

That places Colombia 57th out of 175 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.85 million people 2.42 million people 3.27 million people 10
2010s 1.89 million people 1.50 million people 2.32 million people 10
2020s 1.24 million people 1.06 million people 1.41 million people 5

Countries ranked near Colombia

  1. 54 Bolivia 1.50 million people compare
  2. 55 Mauritania 1.37 million people compare
  3. 56 Cambodia 1.30 million people compare
  4. 58 Namibia 947,581 people compare
  5. 59 Algeria 945,222 people compare
  6. 60 United States 909,537 people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Colombia

All data for Colombia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Colombia?
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Colombia was 1.06 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 Colombia?
The highest recorded value was 3.27 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Colombia?
The lowest recorded value was 1.06 million people in 2024.
How does Colombia rank for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities?
Colombia ranks 57th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Colombia?
Over the last ten years it is down 45.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Colombia 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.