Share of population using safely managed sanitation in South Korea
South Korea: Share of population using safely managed sanitation was 99.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in South Korea, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 99.3% for share of population using safely managed sanitation in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using safely managed sanitation in South Korea peaked at 99.3% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 86.9%, in 2000.
That places South Korea 8th out of 150 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in South Korea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 86.9% | — |
| 2001 | 87.5% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 88.1% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 88.7% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 89.3% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 89.9% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 90.5% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 91.1% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 91.7% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 92.3% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 92.9% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 93.5% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 94.0% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 94.6% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 95.2% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 95.8% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 96.4% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 97.1% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 97.7% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 98.3% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 98.9% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 99.2% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 99.3% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 99.3% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 99.3% | -0.0% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 99.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 92.1%, 1.1× the median. (60 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 99.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 61.4%, 1.6× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 89.6% | 86.9% | 92.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 95.6% | 92.9% | 98.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.2% | 98.9% | 99.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More reference data data for South Korea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9638 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.9281 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2074 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 4.37 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.85 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population using safely managed sanitation in South Korea?
- Share of population using safely managed sanitation in South Korea was 99.3% 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 population using safely managed sanitation recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 99.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of population using safely managed sanitation recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 86.9% in 2000.
- How does South Korea rank for share of population using safely managed sanitation?
- South Korea ranks 8th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using safely managed sanitation rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea 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.