People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities was 2.87 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
2.87 million people
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
42nd
of 175 countries
All-time high
2.89 million people
in 2021
All-time low
2.35 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

01.0M2.0M3.0M2000201220242000: 2.3M people2001: 2.5M people2002: 2.6M people2003: 2.6M people2004: 2.7M people2005: 2.7M people2006: 2.7M people2007: 2.7M people2008: 2.7M people2009: 2.8M people2010: 2.8M people2011: 2.8M people2012: 2.8M people2013: 2.8M people2014: 2.8M people2015: 2.9M people2016: 2.9M people2017: 2.9M people2018: 2.9M people2019: 2.9M people2020: 2.9M people2021: 2.9M people2022: 2.9M people2023: 2.9M people2024: 2.9M people

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

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 2.87 million people for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Sierra Leone peaked at 2.89 million people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 2.35 million people, in 2000.

Sierra Leone ranks 42nd of 175 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.63 million people 2.35 million people 2.76 million people 10
2010s 2.84 million people 2.78 million people 2.88 million people 10
2020s 2.88 million people 2.87 million people 2.89 million people 5

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 39 Senegal 3.34 million people compare
  2. 40 South Africa 3.31 million people compare
  3. 41 Philippines 3.13 million people compare
  4. 43 Haiti 2.78 million people compare
  5. 44 North Korea 2.62 million people compare
  6. 45 Central African Republic 2.61 million people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Sierra Leone?
People in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities in Sierra Leone was 2.87 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 Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 2.89 million people in 2021.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 2.35 million people in 2000.
How does Sierra Leone rank for people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities?
Sierra Leone ranks 42nd out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone 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.