Sanitation facilities usage in Nigeria

Nigeria: Sanitation facilities usage was 41.78 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
41.78 million people
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
2nd
of 232 countries
All-time high
41.78 million people
in 2024
All-time low
30.71 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Sanitation facilities usage in Nigeria, 2000–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M2000201220242000: 30.7M people2001: 31.3M people2002: 31.9M people2003: 32.4M people2004: 33.0M people2005: 33.6M people2006: 34.2M people2007: 34.8M people2008: 35.4M people2009: 35.9M people2010: 36.5M people2011: 37.1M people2012: 37.6M people2013: 38.2M people2014: 38.7M people2015: 39.1M people2016: 39.5M people2017: 39.9M people2018: 40.2M people2019: 40.5M people2020: 40.8M people2021: 41.0M people2022: 41.2M people2023: 41.3M people2024: 41.8M people

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for sanitation facilities usage in Nigeria is 41.78 million people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in Nigeria peaked at 41.78 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 30.71 million people, in 2000.

That places Nigeria 2nd out of 232 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 33.33 million people 30.71 million people 35.94 million people 10
2010s 38.74 million people 36.51 million people 40.52 million people 10
2020s 41.20 million people 40.75 million people 41.78 million people 5

Countries ranked near Nigeria

  1. 1 India 97.69 million people compare
  2. 3 Ethiopia 21.44 million people compare
  3. 4 Pakistan 20.53 million people compare
  4. 5 Niger 17.84 million people compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More reference data data for Nigeria

All data for Nigeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in Nigeria?
Sanitation facilities usage in Nigeria was 41.78 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 Nigeria?
The highest recorded value was 41.78 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage recorded in Nigeria?
The lowest recorded value was 30.71 million people in 2000.
How does Nigeria rank for sanitation facilities usage?
Nigeria ranks 2nd out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is sanitation facilities usage rising or falling in Nigeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nigeria 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.