Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Ghana
Ghana: Share of population using safely managed sanitation was 18.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Ghana, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ghana recorded 18.8% for share of population using safely managed sanitation in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.5% on the previous year and up 53.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using safely managed sanitation in Ghana peaked at 18.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.7%, in 2000.
Ghana ranks 134th of 150 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.7% | — |
| 2001 | 3.7% | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 4.4% | +17.0% |
| 2003 | 5.0% | +14.6% |
| 2004 | 5.7% | +12.9% |
| 2005 | 6.3% | +11.5% |
| 2006 | 7.0% | +10.3% |
| 2007 | 7.6% | +9.4% |
| 2008 | 8.3% | +8.6% |
| 2009 | 8.9% | +8.0% |
| 2010 | 9.6% | +7.4% |
| 2011 | 10.3% | +6.9% |
| 2012 | 10.9% | +6.5% |
| 2013 | 11.6% | +6.1% |
| 2014 | 12.3% | +5.7% |
| 2015 | 12.9% | +5.4% |
| 2016 | 13.6% | +5.1% |
| 2017 | 14.2% | +4.9% |
| 2018 | 14.9% | +4.6% |
| 2019 | 15.5% | +4.4% |
| 2020 | 16.2% | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 16.8% | +4.0% |
| 2022 | 17.5% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 18.1% | +3.7% |
| 2024 | 18.8% | +3.5% |
Ghana compared with similar countries
- Ghana's 18.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 37.3%, 50% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Ghana's 18.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 23.6%, 80% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.1% | 3.7% | 8.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.6% | 9.6% | 15.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.5% | 16.2% | 18.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More reference data data for Ghana
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2805 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1989 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9405 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.9478 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.22 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 12.64 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.08 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population using safely managed sanitation in Ghana?
- Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Ghana was 18.8% 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 population using safely managed sanitation recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 18.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of population using safely managed sanitation recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.7% in 2000.
- How does Ghana rank for share of population using safely managed sanitation?
- Ghana ranks 134th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using safely managed sanitation rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is up 53.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ghana 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 population using safely managed sanitation. 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 using improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households and where excreta are safely disposed in situ or transported and treated off-site.