Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Yemen

Yemen: Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas was 1.92 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.92 million people
Change on year
down 15.1%
World rank
26th
of 175 countries
All-time high
6.52 million people
in 2002
All-time low
1.92 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M6.0M7.0M2000201220242000: 6.2M people2001: 6.4M people2002: 6.5M people2003: 6.4M people2004: 6.3M people2005: 6.2M people2006: 6.1M people2007: 6.0M people2008: 5.8M people2009: 5.7M people2010: 5.5M people2011: 5.4M people2012: 5.2M people2013: 5.0M people2014: 4.8M people2015: 4.5M people2016: 4.3M people2017: 4.1M people2018: 3.8M people2019: 3.5M people2020: 3.2M people2021: 2.9M people2022: 2.6M people2023: 2.3M people2024: 1.9M people

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

Analysis

Yemen recorded 1.92 million people for sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.1% on the previous year and down 59.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Yemen peaked at 6.52 million people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 1.92 million people, in 2024.

That places Yemen 26th 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 6.16 million people 5.69 million people 6.52 million people 10
2010s 4.60 million people 3.51 million people 5.53 million people 10
2020s 2.58 million people 1.92 million people 3.22 million people 5

Countries ranked near Yemen

  1. 23 Somalia 2.58 million people compare
  2. 24 Zimbabwe 2.10 million people compare
  3. 25 Philippines 1.93 million people compare
  4. 27 Eritrea 1.69 million people compare
  5. 28 Papua New Guinea 1.58 million people compare
  6. 29 Uganda 1.52 million people compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Yemen

All data for Yemen →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Yemen?
Sanitation facilities usage in rural areas in Yemen was 1.92 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 Yemen?
The highest recorded value was 6.52 million people in 2002.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage in rural areas recorded in Yemen?
The lowest recorded value was 1.92 million people in 2024.
How does Yemen rank for sanitation facilities usage in rural areas?
Yemen ranks 26th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is sanitation facilities usage in rural areas rising or falling in Yemen?
Over the last ten years it is down 59.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Yemen 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.