People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities was 92.14 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
92.14 million people
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
2nd
of 175 countries
All-time high
92.14 million people
in 2024
All-time low
56.80 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M2000201220242000: 56.8M people2001: 58.2M people2002: 59.7M people2003: 61.2M people2004: 62.7M people2005: 64.3M people2006: 65.8M people2007: 67.4M people2008: 68.8M people2009: 70.2M people2010: 71.7M people2011: 73.1M people2012: 74.6M people2013: 76.0M people2014: 77.4M people2015: 78.8M people2016: 80.3M people2017: 81.8M people2018: 83.2M people2019: 84.7M people2020: 86.3M people2021: 87.8M people2022: 89.2M people2023: 90.7M people2024: 92.1M people

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

Analysis

Ethiopia recorded 92.14 million people for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 19.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Ethiopia peaked at 92.14 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 56.80 million people, in 2000.

Ethiopia ranks 2nd of 175 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 63.52 million people 56.80 million people 70.23 million people 10
2010s 78.16 million people 71.66 million people 84.74 million people 10
2020s 89.22 million people 86.26 million people 92.14 million people 5

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 1 India 97.69 million people compare
  2. 3 Nigeria 61.74 million people compare
  3. 4 Democratic Republic of Congo 45.12 million people compare
  4. 5 Pakistan 41.11 million people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Ethiopia?
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Ethiopia was 92.14 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 Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 92.14 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 56.80 million people in 2000.
How does Ethiopia rank for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities?
Ethiopia ranks 2nd out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 19.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ethiopia 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.