Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities was 3.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Ethiopia, 2010–2024
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 Ethiopia stood at 3.3%. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is down 5.4% on the previous year and down 36.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Ethiopia peaked at 5.2% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 3.3%, in 2024.
That places Ethiopia 112th out of 113 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 5.2% | — |
| 2011 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5.0% | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 4.8% | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 4.6% | -3.9% |
| 2018 | 4.4% | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 4.3% | -4.2% |
| 2020 | 4.1% | -4.4% |
| 2021 | 3.9% | -4.6% |
| 2022 | 3.7% | -4.9% |
| 2023 | 3.5% | -5.1% |
| 2024 | 3.3% | -5.4% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 3.3% is below the median for low income countries, which is 15.4%, 21% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 3.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 17.7%, 19% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 4.9% | 4.3% | 5.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.7% | 3.3% | 4.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More reference data data for Ethiopia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6564 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 20.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 25.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 25.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.1 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 100.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 121.79 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 7.47 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Ethiopia?
- Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Ethiopia was 3.3% 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 Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.2% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.3% in 2024.
- How does Ethiopia rank for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities?
- Ethiopia ranks 112th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.2%. 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 Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.