Share of population not using improved sanitation facilities in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of population not using improved sanitation facilities was 70.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of population not using improved sanitation facilities in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Papua New Guinea recorded 70.6% for share of population not using improved sanitation facilities in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population not using improved sanitation facilities in Papua New Guinea peaked at 81.1% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 70.6%, in 2024.
Papua New Guinea ranks 6th of 232 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of population not using improved sanitation facilities in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 81.0% | — |
| 2001 | 81.1% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 81.1% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 81.1% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 81.1% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 80.6% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 80.1% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 79.6% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 79.1% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 78.6% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 78.1% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 77.5% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 77.0% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 76.5% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 76.0% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 75.5% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 75.0% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 74.4% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 73.9% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 73.3% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 72.8% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 72.2% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 71.7% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 71.1% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 70.6% | -0.8% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 70.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 26.4%, 2.7× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 70.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.4%, 28.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 80.3% | 78.6% | 81.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.7% | 73.3% | 78.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 71.7% | 70.6% | 72.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 3 Eritrea 78.3% compare
- 4 South Sudan 77.7% compare
- 5 Niger 73.5% compare
- 7 Central African Republic 69.4% compare
- 8 Democratic Republic of Congo 65.9% compare
- 9 Madagascar 61.8% compare
More reference data data for Papua New Guinea
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2042 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0498 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.3515 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6846 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5295 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2811 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0038 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population not using improved sanitation facilities in Papua New Guinea?
- Share of population not using improved sanitation facilities in Papua New Guinea was 70.6% 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 not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 81.1% in 2004.
- What is the lowest share of population not using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 70.6% in 2024.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of population not using improved sanitation facilities?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 6th out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population not using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 not using improved sanitation facilities. 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
If no improved sanitation facility is available, people might practice open defecation or use unimproved sanitation facilities.