People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in United States

United States: People not using safely managed sanitation facilities was 10.33 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
10.33 million people
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
44th
of 150 countries
All-time high
10.38 million people
in 2023
All-time low
9.38 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.5M5.0M7.5M10.0M2000201220242000: 9.4M people2001: 9.4M people2002: 9.4M people2003: 9.4M people2004: 9.4M people2005: 9.4M people2006: 9.5M people2007: 9.5M people2008: 9.5M people2009: 9.5M people2010: 9.5M people2011: 9.6M people2012: 9.7M people2013: 9.8M people2014: 9.9M people2015: 10.0M people2016: 10.1M people2017: 10.2M people2018: 10.2M people2019: 10.3M people2020: 10.3M people2021: 10.3M people2022: 10.4M people2023: 10.4M people2024: 10.3M people

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in United States is 10.33 million people, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and up 4.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in United States peaked at 10.38 million people in 2023 and was at its lowest, 9.38 million people, in 2000.

United States ranks 44th 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 9.44 million people 9.38 million people 9.50 million people 10
2010s 9.94 million people 9.53 million people 10.30 million people 10
2020s 10.35 million people 10.33 million people 10.38 million people 5

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 41 Zimbabwe 12.72 million people compare
  2. 42 Benin 12.10 million people compare
  3. 43 Malawi 11.66 million people compare
  4. 45 Uzbekistan 9.24 million people compare
  5. 46 Ecuador 9.20 million people compare
  6. 47 Papua New Guinea 8.81 million people compare

See the full ranking of 150 places →

More reference data data for United States

All data for United States →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities in United States?
People not using safely managed sanitation facilities in United States was 10.33 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 United States?
The highest recorded value was 10.38 million people in 2023.
What is the lowest people not using safely managed sanitation facilities recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 9.38 million people in 2000.
How does United States rank for people not using safely managed sanitation facilities?
United States ranks 44th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using safely managed sanitation facilities rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United States 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.