People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Rwanda

Rwanda: People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities was 146,381 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
146,381 people
Change on year
down 54.1%
World rank
83rd
of 175 countries
All-time high
3.75 million people
in 2000
All-time low
146,381 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M2000201220242000: 3.7M people2001: 3.6M people2002: 3.4M people2003: 3.4M people2004: 3.3M people2005: 3.2M people2006: 3.1M people2007: 3.0M people2008: 2.9M people2009: 2.8M people2010: 2.7M people2011: 2.6M people2012: 2.4M people2013: 2.3M people2014: 2.1M people2015: 2.0M people2016: 1.8M people2017: 1.6M people2018: 1.4M people2019: 1.2M people2020: 1.0M people2021: 793.3k people2022: 561.1k people2023: 319.1k people2024: 146.4k people

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

Analysis

In 2024, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Rwanda stood at 146,381 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 54.1% on the previous year and down 93.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Rwanda peaked at 3.75 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 146,381 people, in 2024.

Rwanda ranks 83rd of 175 countries on this measure, 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 3.25 million people 2.82 million people 3.75 million people 10
2010s 2.02 million people 1.23 million people 2.70 million people 10
2020s 567,160 people 146,381 people 1.02 million people 5

Countries ranked near Rwanda

  1. 80 Equatorial Guinea 161,933 people compare
  2. 81 Armenia 154,504 people compare
  3. 82 Gabon 154,235 people compare
  4. 84 Uzbekistan 136,792 people compare
  5. 85 Dominican Republic 132,877 people compare
  6. 86 Serbia 128,925 people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Rwanda

All data for Rwanda →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Rwanda?
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Rwanda was 146,381 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 Rwanda?
The highest recorded value was 3.75 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Rwanda?
The lowest recorded value was 146,381 people in 2024.
How does Rwanda rank for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities?
Rwanda ranks 83rd out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Rwanda?
Over the last ten years it is down 93.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Rwanda 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.