Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities was 16.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Sierra Leone, 2004–2024
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 Sierra Leone stood at 16.7%. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.5% on the previous year and up 75.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Sierra Leone peaked at 16.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 2004.
Sierra Leone ranks 92nd of 113 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 5.2% | — |
| 2005 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5.2% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5.9% | +13.8% |
| 2010 | 6.7% | +12.1% |
| 2011 | 7.4% | +10.8% |
| 2012 | 8.1% | +9.7% |
| 2013 | 8.8% | +8.9% |
| 2014 | 9.5% | +8.2% |
| 2015 | 10.3% | +7.5% |
| 2016 | 11.0% | +7.0% |
| 2017 | 11.7% | +6.5% |
| 2018 | 12.4% | +6.1% |
| 2019 | 13.1% | +5.8% |
| 2020 | 13.9% | +5.5% |
| 2021 | 14.6% | +5.2% |
| 2022 | 15.3% | +4.9% |
| 2023 | 16.0% | +4.7% |
| 2024 | 16.7% | +4.5% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 16.7% is above the median for low income countries, which is 15.4%, 1.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 16.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 17.7%, 94% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.3% | 5.2% | 5.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 9.9% | 6.7% | 13.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.3% | 13.9% | 16.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 89 South Sudan 18.4% compare
- 90 Lesotho 17.7% compare
- 91 Mauritania 17.0% compare
- 93 Rwanda 16.0% compare
- 94 Guinea-Bissau 15.7% compare
- 95 Haiti 15.5% compare
More reference data data for Sierra Leone
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0238 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.4498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.5935 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.5935 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0797 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.044 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.91 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.6534 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Sierra Leone?
- Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Sierra Leone was 16.7% 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 16.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 2004.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities?
- Sierra Leone ranks 92nd out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 75.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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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About this data
Proportion of people with access to a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home.