People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Laos

Laos: People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities was 678,318 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
678,318 people
Change on year
down 15.5%
World rank
63rd
of 175 countries
All-time high
3.48 million people
in 2000
All-time low
678,318 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

1.0M2.0M3.0M2000201220242000: 3.5M people2001: 3.4M people2002: 3.3M people2003: 3.1M people2004: 3.0M people2005: 2.9M people2006: 2.8M people2007: 2.7M people2008: 2.6M people2009: 2.5M people2010: 2.4M people2011: 2.3M people2012: 2.2M people2013: 2.0M people2014: 1.9M people2015: 1.8M people2016: 1.7M people2017: 1.6M people2018: 1.4M people2019: 1.3M people2020: 1.2M people2021: 1.1M people2022: 933.9k people2023: 802.8k people2024: 678.3k people

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

Analysis

Laos recorded 678,318 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 15.5% on the previous year and down 64.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Laos peaked at 3.48 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 678,318 people, in 2024.

That places Laos 63rd 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 2.98 million people 2.49 million people 3.48 million people 10
2010s 1.86 million people 1.32 million people 2.38 million people 10
2020s 934,148 people 678,318 people 1.19 million people 5

Countries ranked near Laos

  1. 60 United States 909,537 people compare
  2. 61 Guinea-Bissau 890,478 people compare
  3. 62 Argentina 719,188 people compare
  4. 64 Gambia 655,420 people compare
  5. 65 Lesotho 654,622 people compare
  6. 66 Honduras 497,194 people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Laos

All data for Laos →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Laos?
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Laos was 678,318 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 Laos?
The highest recorded value was 3.48 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Laos?
The lowest recorded value was 678,318 people in 2024.
How does Laos rank for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities?
Laos ranks 63rd out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Laos?
Over the last ten years it is down 64.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Laos 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.