People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: People not using safely managed sanitation facilities was 94.98 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
94.98 million people
Change on year
up 3.3%
World rank
7th
of 150 countries
All-time high
94.98 million people
in 2024
All-time low
39.39 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024

020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100.0M2000201220242000: 39.4M people2001: 40.9M people2002: 42.4M people2003: 43.9M people2004: 45.5M people2005: 47.2M people2006: 48.9M people2007: 50.7M people2008: 52.5M people2009: 54.5M people2010: 56.6M people2011: 58.8M people2012: 61.1M people2013: 63.6M people2014: 66.1M people2015: 68.7M people2016: 71.5M people2017: 74.6M people2018: 77.5M people2019: 80.4M people2020: 83.4M people2021: 86.2M people2022: 89.0M people2023: 92.0M people2024: 95.0M people

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

Analysis

Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 94.98 million people for people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.3% on the previous year and up 43.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 94.98 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 39.39 million people, in 2000.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 7th out of 150 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 46.58 million people 39.39 million people 54.46 million people 10
2010s 67.88 million people 56.55 million people 80.40 million people 10
2020s 89.13 million people 83.44 million people 94.98 million people 5

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 4 Ethiopia 121.43 million people compare
  2. 5 Bangladesh 108.79 million people compare
  3. 6 Brazil 95.49 million people compare
  4. 8 Russia 60.56 million people compare
  5. 9 Vietnam 55.17 million people compare
  6. 10 Thailand 52.52 million people compare

See the full ranking of 150 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Democratic Republic of Congo?
People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Democratic Republic of Congo was 94.98 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 94.98 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people not using safely managed sanitation facilities recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 39.39 million people in 2000.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for people not using safely managed sanitation facilities?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 7th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 43.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.