Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Malaysia

Malaysia: Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas was 89,970 people in 2016. ▼ Falling

Latest (2016)
89,970 people
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
65th
of 175 countries
All-time high
301,960 people
in 2000
All-time low
89,970 people
in 2016
Years of data
17
2000–2016

Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Malaysia, 2000–2016

100.0k150.0k200.0k250.0k300.0k2000200820162000: 302.0k people2001: 284.7k people2002: 267.3k people2003: 249.9k people2004: 232.2k people2005: 214.5k people2006: 196.8k people2007: 179.1k people2008: 161.4k people2009: 143.8k people2010: 126.2k people2011: 109.2k people2012: 92.5k people2013: 91.9k people2014: 91.2k people2015: 90.6k people2016: 90.0k people

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

Analysis

Malaysia recorded 89,970 people for sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in 2016. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 54.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Malaysia peaked at 301,960 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 89,970 people, in 2016.

Malaysia ranks 65th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 223,169 people 143,756 people 301,960 people 10
2010s 98,798 people 89,970 people 126,170 people 7

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 62 Turkey 118,925 people compare
  2. 63 Botswana 111,298 people compare
  3. 64 East Timor 110,407 people compare
  4. 66 Dominican Republic 86,573 people compare
  5. 67 Tajikistan 41,064 people compare
  6. 68 El Salvador 36,926 people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Malaysia?
Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Malaysia was 89,970 people in 2016, 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 Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 301,960 people in 2000.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage in rural areas recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 89,970 people in 2016.
How does Malaysia rank for sanitation facilities usage in rural areas?
Malaysia ranks 65th out of 175 countries with data for 2016.
Is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 54.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malaysia 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 — 17 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.