Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Uganda
Uganda: Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities was 20.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Uganda, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Uganda recorded 20.0% for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 3.5% on the previous year and up 51.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Uganda peaked at 20.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2000.
That places Uganda 85th out of 113 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.7% | — |
| 2001 | 4.4% | +18.3% |
| 2002 | 5.1% | +15.5% |
| 2003 | 5.7% | +13.4% |
| 2004 | 6.4% | +11.8% |
| 2005 | 7.1% | +10.6% |
| 2006 | 7.8% | +9.6% |
| 2007 | 8.4% | +8.7% |
| 2008 | 9.1% | +8.0% |
| 2009 | 9.8% | +7.4% |
| 2010 | 10.5% | +6.9% |
| 2011 | 11.2% | +6.5% |
| 2012 | 11.8% | +6.1% |
| 2013 | 12.5% | +5.7% |
| 2014 | 13.2% | +5.4% |
| 2015 | 13.9% | +5.1% |
| 2016 | 14.5% | +4.9% |
| 2017 | 15.2% | +4.7% |
| 2018 | 15.9% | +4.5% |
| 2019 | 16.6% | +4.3% |
| 2020 | 17.3% | +4.1% |
| 2021 | 17.9% | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 18.6% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 19.3% | +3.6% |
| 2024 | 20.0% | +3.5% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 20.0% is above the median for low income countries, which is 15.4%, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 20.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 17.7%, 1.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.8% | 3.7% | 9.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.5% | 10.5% | 16.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.6% | 17.3% | 20.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
More reference data data for Uganda
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.95 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4214 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 29.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 42.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.29 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Uganda?
- Share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities in Uganda was 20.0% 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 20.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2000.
- How does Uganda rank for share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities?
- Uganda ranks 85th out of 113 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of rural population with access to basic handwashing facilities rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 51.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uganda 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.