People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Canada

Canada: People not using safely managed sanitation facilities was 7.43 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
7.43 million people
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
50th
of 150 countries
All-time high
7.83 million people
in 2002
All-time low
7.26 million people
in 2022
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M2000201220242000: 7.7M people2001: 7.7M people2002: 7.8M people2003: 7.8M people2004: 7.8M people2005: 7.7M people2006: 7.7M people2007: 7.7M people2008: 7.7M people2009: 7.7M people2010: 7.7M people2011: 7.7M people2012: 7.7M people2013: 7.6M people2014: 7.6M people2015: 7.5M people2016: 7.5M people2017: 7.5M people2018: 7.5M people2019: 7.5M people2020: 7.4M people2021: 7.3M people2022: 7.3M people2023: 7.3M people2024: 7.4M people

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

Analysis

Canada recorded 7.43 million people for people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Canada peaked at 7.83 million people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 7.26 million people, in 2022.

Canada ranks 50th of 150 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 7.73 million people 7.67 million people 7.83 million people 10
2010s 7.57 million people 7.45 million people 7.69 million people 10
2020s 7.36 million people 7.26 million people 7.43 million people 5

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 47 Papua New Guinea 8.81 million people compare
  2. 48 Cambodia 8.54 million people compare
  3. 49 Togo 8.28 million people compare
  4. 51 Sierra Leone 7.19 million people compare
  5. 52 France 6.66 million people compare
  6. 53 Dominican Republic 6.52 million people compare

See the full ranking of 150 places →

More reference data data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Canada?
People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Canada was 7.43 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 Canada?
The highest recorded value was 7.83 million people in 2002.
What is the lowest people not using safely managed sanitation facilities recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 7.26 million people in 2022.
How does Canada rank for people not using safely managed sanitation facilities?
Canada ranks 50th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Canada 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.