Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Share of population using safely managed sanitation was 16.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
16.8%
Change on year
up 4.6%
World rank
136th
of 150 countries
All-time high
16.8%
in 2024
All-time low
5.0%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Sierra Leone, 2000–2024

57.51012.51517.52000201220242000: 5 %2001: 5.1 %2002: 5.3 %2003: 5.4 %2004: 5.8 %2005: 6.2 %2006: 6.6 %2007: 7 %2008: 7.4 %2009: 7.9 %2010: 8.3 %2011: 8.8 %2012: 9.3 %2013: 9.8 %2014: 10.3 %2015: 10.8 %2016: 11.4 %2017: 12.1 %2018: 12.7 %2019: 13.3 %2020: 14 %2021: 14.7 %2022: 15.4 %2023: 16.1 %2024: 16.8 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 16.8% for share of population using safely managed sanitation in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 4.6% on the previous year and up 63.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population using safely managed sanitation in Sierra Leone peaked at 16.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.0%, in 2000.

That places Sierra Leone 136th out of 150 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.2% 5.0% 7.9% 10
2010s 10.7% 8.3% 13.3% 10
2020s 15.4% 14.0% 16.8% 5

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 133 Mali 20.0% compare
  2. 134 Ghana 18.8% compare
  3. 135 Colombia 18.7% compare
  4. 137 Papua New Guinea 16.7% compare
  5. 138 Somalia 16.4% compare
  6. 139 Benin 16.4% compare

See the full ranking of 150 places →

More reference data data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population using safely managed sanitation in Sierra Leone?
Share of population using safely managed sanitation in Sierra Leone was 16.8% 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 Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 16.8% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of population using safely managed sanitation recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 5.0% in 2000.
How does Sierra Leone rank for share of population using safely managed sanitation?
Sierra Leone ranks 136th out of 150 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population using safely managed sanitation rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 63.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone 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

Indicator
Share of population using safely managed sanitation
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
150 places, 3,667 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.