Sanitation facilities usage in Pakistan

Pakistan: Sanitation facilities usage was 20.53 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
20.53 million people
Change on year
down 9.1%
World rank
4th
of 232 countries
All-time high
48.76 million people
in 2003
All-time low
20.53 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Sanitation facilities usage in Pakistan, 2000–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M50.0M2000201220242000: 45.6M people2001: 46.7M people2002: 47.8M people2003: 48.8M people2004: 48.2M people2005: 47.5M people2006: 46.8M people2007: 46.2M people2008: 45.5M people2009: 44.6M people2010: 43.7M people2011: 42.7M people2012: 41.4M people2013: 40.0M people2014: 38.4M people2015: 36.8M people2016: 35.1M people2017: 33.4M people2018: 31.7M people2019: 30.0M people2020: 28.3M people2021: 26.5M people2022: 24.6M people2023: 22.6M people2024: 20.5M people

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

Analysis

Pakistan recorded 20.53 million people for sanitation facilities usage in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is down 9.1% on the previous year and down 46.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, sanitation facilities usage in Pakistan peaked at 48.76 million people in 2003 and was at its lowest, 20.53 million people, in 2024.

That places Pakistan 4th 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 46.76 million people 44.65 million people 48.76 million people 10
2010s 37.32 million people 30.02 million people 43.74 million people 10
2020s 24.50 million people 20.53 million people 28.27 million people 5

Countries ranked near Pakistan

  1. 1 India 97.69 million people compare
  2. 2 Nigeria 41.78 million people compare
  3. 3 Ethiopia 21.44 million people compare
  4. 5 Niger 17.84 million people compare
  5. 6 Democratic Republic of Congo 12.75 million people compare
  6. 7 Chad 12.63 million people compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More reference data data for Pakistan

All data for Pakistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is sanitation facilities usage in Pakistan?
Sanitation facilities usage in Pakistan was 20.53 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 Pakistan?
The highest recorded value was 48.76 million people in 2003.
What is the lowest sanitation facilities usage recorded in Pakistan?
The lowest recorded value was 20.53 million people in 2024.
How does Pakistan rank for sanitation facilities usage?
Pakistan ranks 4th out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is sanitation facilities usage rising or falling in Pakistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 46.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Pakistan 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.