People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: People not using safely managed sanitation facilities was 32.08 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
32.08 million people
Change on year
up 2.1%
World rank
19th
of 150 countries
All-time high
32.08 million people
in 2024
All-time low
18.09 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Afghanistan, 2000–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M2000201220242000: 18.1M people2001: 18.2M people2002: 19.1M people2003: 20.1M people2004: 20.7M people2005: 21.2M people2006: 21.9M people2007: 22.2M people2008: 22.5M people2009: 23.1M people2010: 23.6M people2011: 24.3M people2012: 25.2M people2013: 25.8M people2014: 26.6M people2015: 27.2M people2016: 27.7M people2017: 28.3M people2018: 28.9M people2019: 29.6M people2020: 30.3M people2021: 30.8M people2022: 31.0M people2023: 31.4M people2024: 32.1M people

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

Analysis

In 2024, people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Afghanistan stood at 32.08 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 20.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Afghanistan peaked at 32.08 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 18.09 million people, in 2000.

Afghanistan ranks 19th of 150 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 20.71 million people 18.09 million people 23.13 million people 10
2010s 26.74 million people 23.64 million people 29.58 million people 10
2020s 31.12 million people 30.30 million people 32.08 million people 5

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 16 Uganda 39.83 million people compare
  2. 17 Kenya 36.21 million people compare
  3. 18 Morocco 34.87 million people compare
  4. 20 Ghana 27.97 million people compare
  5. 21 Madagascar 27.87 million people compare
  6. 22 Niger 24.56 million people compare

See the full ranking of 150 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Afghanistan?
People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Afghanistan was 32.08 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 not using safely managed sanitation facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 32.08 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people not using safely managed sanitation facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 18.09 million people in 2000.
How does Afghanistan rank for people not using safely managed sanitation facilities?
Afghanistan ranks 19th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Afghanistan 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 not using safely managed 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 not using safely managed 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
150 places, 3,667 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

People not using safely managed sanitation services might practice open defecation, use unimproved sanitation facilities, or use improved facilities that do not safely manage human waste.