Share of population using safely managed sanitation in New Zealand
New Zealand: Share of population using safely managed sanitation was 88.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in New Zealand, 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 New Zealand stood at 88.8%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using safely managed sanitation in New Zealand peaked at 88.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 80.4%, in 2000.
New Zealand ranks 41st of 150 countries on this measure, 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 New Zealand, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 80.4% | — |
| 2001 | 81.0% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 81.6% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 82.2% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 82.8% | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 83.4% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 84.0% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 84.6% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 85.1% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 85.7% | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 86.3% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 86.9% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 87.5% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 87.6% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 87.6% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 87.7% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 87.7% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 87.8% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 87.8% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 88.0% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 88.6% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 88.7% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 88.7% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 88.8% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 88.8% | +0.0% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 88.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 92.1%, 96% of the median. (60 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 88.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 61.4%, 1.4× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 83.1% | 80.4% | 85.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 87.5% | 86.3% | 88.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.7% | 88.6% | 88.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More reference data data for New Zealand
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.4532 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 9.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0459 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 10.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.52 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 42.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 47.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2499 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population using safely managed sanitation in New Zealand?
- Share of population using safely managed sanitation in New Zealand was 88.8% 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 88.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of population using safely managed sanitation recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 80.4% in 2000.
- How does New Zealand rank for share of population using safely managed sanitation?
- New Zealand ranks 41st out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using safely managed sanitation rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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.