Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Kenya

Kenya: Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas was 3.21 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
3.21 million people
Change on year
down 4.8%
World rank
21st
of 175 countries
All-time high
5.03 million people
in 2002
All-time low
3.21 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Kenya, 2000–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M2000201220242000: 5.0M people2001: 5.0M people2002: 5.0M people2003: 5.0M people2004: 5.0M people2005: 5.0M people2006: 5.0M people2007: 5.0M people2008: 4.9M people2009: 4.9M people2010: 4.9M people2011: 4.8M people2012: 4.7M people2013: 4.7M people2014: 4.6M people2015: 4.5M people2016: 4.4M people2017: 4.2M people2018: 4.1M people2019: 4.0M people2020: 3.8M people2021: 3.7M people2022: 3.5M people2023: 3.4M people2024: 3.2M 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, sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Kenya stood at 3.21 million people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 29.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Kenya peaked at 5.03 million people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 3.21 million people, in 2024.

Kenya ranks 21st of 175 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 5.00 million people 4.91 million people 5.03 million people 10
2010s 4.48 million people 3.97 million people 4.87 million people 10
2020s 3.52 million people 3.21 million people 3.83 million people 5

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 18 Indonesia 4.44 million people compare
  2. 19 Ghana 4.25 million people compare
  3. 20 Myanmar 3.53 million people compare
  4. 22 Togo 2.66 million people compare
  5. 23 Somalia 2.58 million people compare
  6. 24 Zimbabwe 2.10 million people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Kenya?
Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Kenya was 3.21 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 sanitation facilities usage in rural areas recorded in Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 5.03 million people in 2002.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage in rural areas recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 3.21 million people in 2024.
How does Kenya rank for sanitation facilities usage in rural areas?
Kenya ranks 21st out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Kenya 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 Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas. 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
Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas
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
175 places, 4,232 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Open defecation includes defecating in fields, forests, bushes, bodies of water or other open spaces, not using any sanitation facilities.