People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Gambia

Gambia: People not using safely managed sanitation facilities was 1.98 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1.98 million people
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
74th
of 150 countries
All-time high
1.98 million people
in 2024
All-time low
825,868 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2000201220242000: 825.9k people2001: 866.6k people2002: 908.3k people2003: 950.7k people2004: 994.3k people2005: 1.0M people2006: 1.1M people2007: 1.1M people2008: 1.2M people2009: 1.2M people2010: 1.2M people2011: 1.3M people2012: 1.3M people2013: 1.4M people2014: 1.5M people2015: 1.5M people2016: 1.6M people2017: 1.6M people2018: 1.7M people2019: 1.7M people2020: 1.8M people2021: 1.8M people2022: 1.9M people2023: 1.9M people2024: 2.0M people

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

Analysis

In 2024, people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Gambia stood at 1.98 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 36.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Gambia peaked at 1.98 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 825,868 people, in 2000.

Gambia ranks 74th of 150 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 1.01 million people 825,868 people 1.20 million people 10
2010s 1.48 million people 1.25 million people 1.72 million people 10
2020s 1.89 million people 1.78 million people 1.98 million people 5

Countries ranked near Gambia

  1. 71 Jordan 2.30 million people compare
  2. 72 Laos 2.22 million people compare
  3. 73 Puerto Rico 2.19 million people compare
  4. 75 Romania 1.94 million people compare
  5. 76 Guinea-Bissau 1.70 million people compare
  6. 77 Bulgaria 1.64 million people compare

See the full ranking of 150 places →

More reference data data for Gambia

All data for Gambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Gambia?
People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in Gambia was 1.98 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 Gambia?
The highest recorded value was 1.98 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people not using safely managed sanitation facilities recorded in Gambia?
The lowest recorded value was 825,868 people in 2000.
How does Gambia rank for people not using safely managed sanitation facilities?
Gambia ranks 74th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities rising or falling in Gambia?
Over the last ten years it is up 36.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Gambia 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.