Sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Sanitation facilities usage in urban areas was 2.05 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
2.05 million people
Change on year
up 4.6%
World rank
3rd
of 186 countries
All-time high
2.05 million people
in 2024
All-time low
458,045 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024

500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2000201220242000: 458.0k people2001: 491.3k people2002: 526.0k people2003: 561.9k people2004: 600.1k people2005: 641.4k people2006: 685.3k people2007: 731.5k people2008: 780.4k people2009: 832.8k people2010: 889.2k people2011: 950.0k people2012: 1.0M people2013: 1.1M people2014: 1.2M people2015: 1.2M people2016: 1.3M people2017: 1.4M people2018: 1.5M people2019: 1.6M people2020: 1.7M people2021: 1.8M people2022: 1.9M people2023: 2.0M people2024: 2.0M 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 urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 2.05 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.6% on the previous year and up 76.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 2.05 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 458,045 people, in 2000.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 3rd out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 630,879 people 458,045 people 832,786 people 10
2010s 1.22 million people 889,206 people 1.61 million people 10
2020s 1.87 million people 1.71 million people 2.05 million people 5

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 1 Nigeria 9.10 million people compare
  2. 2 Benin 2.16 million people compare
  3. 4 Indonesia 2.04 million people compare
  4. 5 Ghana 1.88 million people compare
  5. 6 Madagascar 1.77 million people compare

See the full ranking of 186 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo was 2.05 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 urban areas recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 2.05 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage in urban areas recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 458,045 people in 2000.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for sanitation facilities usage in urban areas?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 3rd out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
Is sanitation facilities usage in urban areas rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 76.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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 urban 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 urban 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
186 places, 4,553 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.