Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities was 48.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
48.9%
Change on year
up 3.2%
World rank
61st
of 113 countries
All-time high
48.9%
in 2024
All-time low
26.3%
in 2005
Years of data
20
2005–2024

Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan, 2005–2024

010203040502005201420242005: 26.3 %2006: 26.3 %2007: 26.3 %2008: 26.3 %2009: 26.3 %2010: 27.8 %2011: 29.3 %2012: 30.8 %2013: 32.3 %2014: 33.8 %2015: 35.3 %2016: 36.8 %2017: 38.3 %2018: 39.8 %2019: 41.4 %2020: 42.9 %2021: 44.4 %2022: 45.9 %2023: 47.4 %2024: 48.9 %

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

Analysis

In 2024, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan stood at 48.9%. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.

That represents a change of up 3.2% on the previous year and up 44.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan peaked at 48.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 26.3%, in 2005.

That places Afghanistan 61st out of 113 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 26.3% 26.3% 26.3% 5
2010s 34.6% 27.8% 41.4% 10
2020s 45.9% 42.9% 48.9% 5

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 58 Kiribati 58.6% compare
  2. 59 Laos 56.6% compare
  3. 60 Yemen 56.3% compare
  4. 62 Kenya 48.2% compare
  5. 63 Sao Tome and Principe 43.1% compare
  6. 64 Vanuatu 42.2% compare

See the full ranking of 113 places →

More reference data data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan?
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Afghanistan was 48.9% 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 share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 48.9% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 26.3% in 2005.
How does Afghanistan rank for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities?
Afghanistan ranks 61st out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is up 44.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Afghanistan 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 Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities
Unit
%
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
113 places, 1,715 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.