Sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia

Malaysia: Sanitation facilities usage was 110,515 people in 2016. ▼ Falling

Latest (2016)
110,515 people
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
68th
of 232 countries
All-time high
368,672 people
in 2000
All-time low
110,515 people
in 2016
Years of data
17
2000–2016

Sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia, 2000–2016

100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k2000200820162000: 368.7k people2001: 349.3k people2002: 329.7k people2003: 309.5k people2004: 288.8k people2005: 267.8k people2006: 246.3k people2007: 224.5k people2008: 202.2k people2009: 179.6k people2010: 156.7k people2011: 133.9k people2012: 111.0k people2013: 110.9k people2014: 110.7k people2015: 110.6k people2016: 110.5k 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 2016, sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia stood at 110,515 people. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 55.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia peaked at 368,672 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 110,515 people, in 2016.

Malaysia ranks 68th of 232 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.

Sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia, 2000 to 2016.
Year people Change
2000 368,672 people
2001 349,321 people -5.2%
2002 329,671 people -5.6%
2003 309,499 people -6.1%
2004 288,833 people -6.7%
2005 267,760 people -7.3%
2006 246,300 people -8.0%
2007 224,457 people -8.9%
2008 202,221 people -9.9%
2009 179,612 people -11.2%
2010 156,665 people -12.8%
2011 133,913 people -14.5%
2012 111,023 people -17.1%
2013 110,884 people -0.1%
2014 110,740 people -0.1%
2015 110,613 people -0.1%
2016 110,515 people -0.1%

Malaysia compared with similar countries

  • Malaysia's 110,515 people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3,951 people, 28.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • Malaysia's 110,515 people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.33 people, 1123.9× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 276,635 people 179,612 people 368,672 people 10
2010s 120,622 people 110,515 people 156,665 people 7

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 65 Botswana 136,776 people compare
  2. 66 Syria 130,923 people compare
  3. 67 Turkey 122,852 people compare
  4. 69 East Timor 110,407 people compare
  5. 70 Sao Tome and Principe 78,551 people compare
  6. 71 El Salvador 75,817 people compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More reference data data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia?
Sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia was 110,515 people in 2016, 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 Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 368,672 people in 2000.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 110,515 people in 2016.
How does Malaysia rank for sanitation facilities usage?
Malaysia ranks 68th out of 232 countries with data for 2016.
Is sanitation facilities usage rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 55.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malaysia 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.

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Sanitation facilities usage in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/sanitation-facilities-coverage/malaysia/

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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.