Sanitation facilities usage in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Sanitation facilities usage was 21.44 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
21.44 million people
Change on year
down 9.6%
World rank
3rd
of 232 countries
All-time high
48.45 million people
in 2000
All-time low
21.44 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Sanitation facilities usage in Ethiopia, 2000–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M50.0M2000201220242000: 48.4M people2001: 48.3M people2002: 48.1M people2003: 47.8M people2004: 47.5M people2005: 47.1M people2006: 46.6M people2007: 46.1M people2008: 45.4M people2009: 44.6M people2010: 43.7M people2011: 42.7M people2012: 41.7M people2013: 40.5M people2014: 39.3M people2015: 37.9M people2016: 36.5M people2017: 35.0M people2018: 33.4M people2019: 31.7M people2020: 29.9M people2021: 27.9M people2022: 25.9M people2023: 23.7M people2024: 21.4M 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 Ethiopia stood at 21.44 million people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 9.6% on the previous year and down 45.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in Ethiopia peaked at 48.45 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 21.44 million people, in 2024.

That places Ethiopia 3rd out of 232 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 47.00 million people 44.57 million people 48.45 million people 10
2010s 38.24 million people 31.66 million people 43.69 million people 10
2020s 25.76 million people 21.44 million people 29.85 million people 5

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 1 India 97.69 million people compare
  2. 2 Nigeria 41.78 million people compare
  3. 4 Pakistan 20.53 million people compare
  4. 5 Niger 17.84 million people compare
  5. 6 Democratic Republic of Congo 12.75 million people compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More reference data data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in Ethiopia?
Sanitation facilities usage in Ethiopia was 21.44 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 recorded in Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 48.45 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 21.44 million people in 2024.
How does Ethiopia rank for sanitation facilities usage?
Ethiopia ranks 3rd out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is sanitation facilities usage rising or falling in Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is down 45.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ethiopia 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. 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
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
232 places, 5,488 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.