Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Nepal
Nepal: Share of population using safely managed sanitation was 53.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Nepal, 2000–2024
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 population using safely managed sanitation in Nepal stood at 53.4%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 4.4% on the previous year and up 65.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using safely managed sanitation in Nepal peaked at 53.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 7.3%, in 2000.
That places Nepal 85th out of 150 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Nepal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.3% | — |
| 2001 | 9.3% | +27.9% |
| 2002 | 10.9% | +16.9% |
| 2003 | 12.5% | +14.7% |
| 2004 | 14.2% | +13.1% |
| 2005 | 15.8% | +11.8% |
| 2006 | 17.6% | +10.8% |
| 2007 | 19.3% | +9.9% |
| 2008 | 21.1% | +9.2% |
| 2009 | 22.9% | +8.5% |
| 2010 | 24.7% | +8.0% |
| 2011 | 26.5% | +7.5% |
| 2012 | 28.4% | +7.1% |
| 2013 | 30.3% | +6.8% |
| 2014 | 32.3% | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 34.3% | +6.1% |
| 2016 | 36.3% | +5.9% |
| 2017 | 38.3% | +5.6% |
| 2018 | 40.4% | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 42.5% | +5.2% |
| 2020 | 44.6% | +5.0% |
| 2021 | 46.8% | +4.8% |
| 2022 | 49.0% | +4.7% |
| 2023 | 51.2% | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 53.4% | +4.4% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 53.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 37.3%, 1.4× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Nepal 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +27.9% | 7.3% | 9.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.1% | 7.3% | 22.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 33.4% | 24.7% | 42.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 49.0% | 44.6% | 53.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More reference data data for Nepal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7753 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7853 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 4.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.6 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.7974 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.28 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.44 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.28 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population using safely managed sanitation in Nepal?
- Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Nepal was 53.4% 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 53.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of population using safely managed sanitation recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.3% in 2000.
- How does Nepal rank for share of population using safely managed sanitation?
- Nepal ranks 85th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using safely managed sanitation rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 65.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nepal 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.