People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Romania

Romania: People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities was 1.58 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.58 million people
Change on year
down 1.0%
World rank
53rd
of 175 countries
All-time high
4.74 million people
in 2001
All-time low
1.58 million people
in 2024
Years of data
24
2001–2024

People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Romania, 2001–2024

2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M2001201220242001: 4.7M people2002: 4.7M people2003: 4.7M people2004: 4.6M people2005: 4.6M people2006: 4.4M people2007: 4.2M people2008: 4.0M people2009: 3.8M people2010: 3.6M people2011: 3.4M people2012: 3.3M people2013: 3.1M people2014: 3.0M people2015: 2.8M people2016: 2.7M people2017: 2.5M people2018: 2.3M people2019: 2.2M people2020: 2.0M people2021: 1.9M people2022: 1.7M people2023: 1.6M people2024: 1.6M people

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

Analysis

Romania recorded 1.58 million people for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.0% on the previous year and down 46.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Romania peaked at 4.74 million people in 2001 and was at its lowest, 1.58 million people, in 2024.

That places Romania 53rd 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 24 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.39 million people 3.79 million people 4.74 million people 9
2010s 2.89 million people 2.20 million people 3.61 million people 10
2020s 1.77 million people 1.58 million people 2.04 million people 5

Countries ranked near Romania

  1. 50 Liberia 1.92 million people compare
  2. 51 Eritrea 1.77 million people compare
  3. 52 Congo 1.59 million people compare
  4. 54 Bolivia 1.50 million people compare
  5. 55 Mauritania 1.37 million people compare
  6. 56 Cambodia 1.30 million people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Romania

All data for Romania →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Romania?
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Romania was 1.58 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 Romania?
The highest recorded value was 4.74 million people in 2001.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Romania?
The lowest recorded value was 1.58 million people in 2024.
How does Romania rank for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities?
Romania ranks 53rd out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Romania?
Over the last ten years it is down 46.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Romania 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 — 24 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.