Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Namibia

Namibia: Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas was 716,848 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
716,848 people
Change on year
down 1.8%
World rank
41st
of 175 countries
All-time high
983,306 people
in 2000
All-time low
716,848 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k1.0M2000201220242000: 983.3k people2001: 982.5k people2002: 973.2k people2003: 959.6k people2004: 943.9k people2005: 927.7k people2006: 911.5k people2007: 895.4k people2008: 879.6k people2009: 864.2k people2010: 849.2k people2011: 835.2k people2012: 824.7k people2013: 816.7k people2014: 808.3k people2015: 799.7k people2016: 791.2k people2017: 782.7k people2018: 774.3k people2019: 765.9k people2020: 758.2k people2021: 750.5k people2022: 741.4k people2023: 730.1k people2024: 716.8k 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 Namibia stood at 716,848 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and down 11.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Namibia peaked at 983,306 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 716,848 people, in 2024.

That places Namibia 41st out of 175 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 932,094 people 864,234 people 983,306 people 10
2010s 804,781 people 765,915 people 849,155 people 10
2020s 739,400 people 716,848 people 758,155 people 5

Countries ranked near Namibia

  1. 38 Bolivia 880,645 people compare
  2. 39 Mali 792,478 people compare
  3. 40 Mauritania 780,262 people compare
  4. 42 Laos 678,318 people compare
  5. 43 Guinea 648,978 people compare
  6. 44 Peru 516,637 people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Namibia

All data for Namibia →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Namibia?
Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Namibia was 716,848 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 Namibia?
The highest recorded value was 983,306 people in 2000.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage in rural areas recorded in Namibia?
The lowest recorded value was 716,848 people in 2024.
How does Namibia rank for sanitation facilities usage in rural areas?
Namibia ranks 41st out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas rising or falling in Namibia?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Namibia 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.