People practicing open defecation in Ghana
Ghana: People practicing open defecation was 17.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
People practicing open defecation in Ghana, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
In 2024, people practicing open defecation in Ghana stood at 17.8%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation in Ghana peaked at 20.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 17.8%, in 2024.
Ghana ranks 17th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People practicing open defecation in Ghana, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 20.3% | — |
| 2001 | 20.2% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 20.1% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 20.0% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 19.9% | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 19.7% | -0.6% |
| 2006 | 19.6% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 19.5% | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 19.4% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 19.3% | -0.6% |
| 2010 | 19.2% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 19.1% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 19.0% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 18.9% | -0.6% |
| 2014 | 18.8% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 18.7% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 18.6% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 18.5% | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 18.4% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 18.3% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 18.2% | -0.5% |
| 2021 | 18.1% | -0.5% |
| 2022 | 18.0% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 17.9% | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 17.8% | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 19.8% | 19.3% | 20.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.7% | 18.3% | 19.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 18.0% | 17.8% | 18.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ghana
More health data for Ghana
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.37 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.6224 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 986.1 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,361 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 0.736 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.1749 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 0.7544 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.1794 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people practicing open defecation in Ghana?
- People practicing open defecation in Ghana was 17.8% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest people practicing open defecation recorded in Ghana?
- The highest recorded value was 20.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest people practicing open defecation recorded in Ghana?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.8% in 2024.
- How does Ghana rank for people practicing open defecation?
- Ghana ranks 17th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Ghana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ghana data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of People practicing open defecation (% of population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
People practicing open defecation refers to the percentage of the population defecating in the open, such as in fields, forest, bushes, open bodies of water, on beaches, in other open spaces or disposed of with solid waste.