People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Pakistan

Pakistan: People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities was 41.11 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
41.11 million people
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
5th
of 175 countries
All-time high
82.17 million people
in 2003
All-time low
40.28 million people
in 2022
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M2000201220242000: 76.8M people2001: 78.8M people2002: 80.5M people2003: 82.2M people2004: 81.1M people2005: 80.0M people2006: 78.7M people2007: 77.5M people2008: 76.3M people2009: 74.8M people2010: 73.2M people2011: 71.3M people2012: 69.1M people2013: 66.6M people2014: 64.0M people2015: 61.2M people2016: 58.3M people2017: 55.4M people2018: 52.5M people2019: 49.6M people2020: 46.6M people2021: 43.5M people2022: 40.3M people2023: 40.7M people2024: 41.1M people

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

Analysis

Pakistan recorded 41.11 million people for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in 2024.

The figure is up 1.0% on the previous year and down 35.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Pakistan peaked at 82.17 million people in 2003 and was at its lowest, 40.28 million people, in 2022.

That places Pakistan 5th out of 175 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 78.67 million people 74.82 million people 82.17 million people 10
2010s 62.14 million people 49.57 million people 73.22 million people 10
2020s 42.44 million people 40.28 million people 46.58 million people 5

Countries ranked near Pakistan

  1. 2 Ethiopia 92.14 million people compare
  2. 3 Nigeria 61.74 million people compare
  3. 4 Democratic Republic of Congo 45.12 million people compare
  4. 6 Tanzania 28.10 million people compare
  5. 7 Uganda 24.65 million people compare
  6. 8 Niger 19.16 million people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Pakistan

All data for Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Pakistan?
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Pakistan was 41.11 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 Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 82.17 million people in 2003.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 40.28 million people in 2022.
How does Pakistan rank for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities?
Pakistan ranks 5th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 35.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Pakistan 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.