Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas was 1.58 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2024
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 Papua New Guinea stood at 1.58 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.3% on the previous year and up 32.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Papua New Guinea peaked at 1.58 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 713,922 people, in 2000.
Papua New Guinea ranks 28th of 175 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 713,922 people | — |
| 2001 | 738,784 people | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 764,164 people | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 790,126 people | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 816,631 people | +3.4% |
| 2005 | 850,571 people | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 885,486 people | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 921,369 people | +4.1% |
| 2008 | 958,263 people | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 996,148 people | +4.0% |
| 2010 | 1.04 million people | +3.9% |
| 2011 | 1.07 million people | +3.8% |
| 2012 | 1.11 million people | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 1.15 million people | +3.5% |
| 2014 | 1.19 million people | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 1.23 million people | +3.3% |
| 2016 | 1.27 million people | +3.2% |
| 2017 | 1.31 million people | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 1.35 million people | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 1.39 million people | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 1.43 million people | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 1.47 million people | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 1.50 million people | +2.5% |
| 2023 | 1.54 million people | +2.4% |
| 2024 | 1.58 million people | +2.3% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 1.58 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 539,517 people, 2.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 1.58 million people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14,678 people, 107.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 843,546 people | 713,922 people | 996,148 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.21 million people | 1.04 million people | 1.39 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.50 million people | 1.43 million people | 1.58 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More reference data data for Papua New Guinea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2042 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6846 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5295 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2811 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0038 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Papua New Guinea?
- Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Papua New Guinea was 1.58 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.58 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage in rural areas recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 713,922 people in 2000.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for sanitation facilities usage in rural areas?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 28th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
- Is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 32.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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
Open defecation includes defecating in fields, forests, bushes, bodies of water or other open spaces, not using any sanitation facilities.