Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Rwanda
Rwanda: Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities was 16.0% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Rwanda, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Rwanda recorded 16.0% for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 68.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Rwanda peaked at 16.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2000.
Rwanda ranks 93rd of 113 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Rwanda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.0% | — |
| 2001 | 0.0% | — |
| 2002 | 0.0% | — |
| 2003 | 0.0% | — |
| 2004 | 0.3% | — |
| 2005 | 1.2% | +342.2% |
| 2006 | 2.1% | +77.4% |
| 2007 | 3.1% | +43.6% |
| 2008 | 4.0% | +30.4% |
| 2009 | 4.9% | +23.3% |
| 2010 | 5.8% | +18.9% |
| 2011 | 6.8% | +15.9% |
| 2012 | 7.7% | +13.7% |
| 2013 | 8.6% | +12.1% |
| 2014 | 9.5% | +10.8% |
| 2015 | 10.5% | +9.7% |
| 2016 | 11.4% | +8.9% |
| 2017 | 12.3% | +8.1% |
| 2018 | 13.3% | +7.5% |
| 2019 | 14.2% | +7.0% |
| 2020 | 15.1% | +6.5% |
| 2021 | 16.0% | +6.1% |
| 2022 | 16.0% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16.0% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16.0% | +0.0% |
Rwanda compared with similar countries
- Rwanda's 16.0% is above the median for low income countries, which is 15.4%, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Rwanda's 16.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 17.7%, 90% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Rwanda changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +342.2% | 0.3% | 1.2% |
| 2006 | +77.4% | 1.2% | 2.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.6% | 0.0% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.0% | 5.8% | 14.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.9% | 15.1% | 16.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Rwanda
- 90 Lesotho 17.7% compare
- 91 Mauritania 17.0% compare
- 92 Sierra Leone 16.7% compare
- 94 Guinea-Bissau 15.7% compare
- 95 Haiti 15.5% compare
- 96 Madagascar 15.1% compare
More reference data data for Rwanda
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2282 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9517 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1223 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7651 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9517 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.666 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Rwanda?
- Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Rwanda was 16.0% 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 Rwanda?
- The highest recorded value was 16.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Rwanda?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2000.
- How does Rwanda rank for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities?
- Rwanda ranks 93rd out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Rwanda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 68.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Rwanda 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
CSV · JSON — 25 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.