Sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Ghana

Ghana: Sanitation facilities usage in urban areas was 1.88 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
1.88 million people
Change on year
up 3.7%
World rank
5th
of 186 countries
All-time high
1.88 million people
in 2024
All-time low
655,008 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Ghana, 2000–2024

750.0k1.0M1.2M1.5M1.8M2.0M2000201220242000: 655.0k people2001: 688.6k people2002: 724.4k people2003: 761.5k people2004: 799.9k people2005: 839.8k people2006: 881.3k people2007: 924.3k people2008: 968.9k people2009: 1.0M people2010: 1.1M people2011: 1.1M people2012: 1.2M people2013: 1.2M people2014: 1.3M people2015: 1.3M people2016: 1.4M people2017: 1.4M people2018: 1.5M people2019: 1.6M people2020: 1.6M people2021: 1.7M people2022: 1.7M people2023: 1.8M 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

In 2024, sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Ghana stood at 1.88 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 47.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Ghana peaked at 1.88 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 655,008 people, in 2000.

Ghana ranks 5th of 186 countries on this measure, 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 825,870 people 655,008 people 1.01 million people 10
2010s 1.30 million people 1.06 million people 1.56 million people 10
2020s 1.75 million people 1.62 million people 1.88 million people 5

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 2 Benin 2.16 million people compare
  2. 3 Democratic Republic of Congo 2.05 million people compare
  3. 4 Indonesia 2.04 million people compare
  4. 6 Madagascar 1.77 million people compare
  5. 7 Angola 1.71 million people compare
  6. 8 Ethiopia 831,641 people compare

See the full ranking of 186 places →

More reference data data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Ghana?
Sanitation facilities usage in urban areas in Ghana was 1.88 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 Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 1.88 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage in urban areas recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 655,008 people in 2000.
How does Ghana rank for sanitation facilities usage in urban areas?
Ghana ranks 5th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
Is sanitation facilities usage in urban areas rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is up 47.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ghana 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.