People practicing open defecation in Laos
Laos: People practicing open defecation was 8.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
People practicing open defecation in Laos, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
Laos recorded 8.7% for people practicing open defecation in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.6% on the previous year and down 69.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation in Laos peaked at 61.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 8.7%, in 2024.
That places Laos 33rd out of 214 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People practicing open defecation in Laos, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 61.3% | — |
| 2001 | 58.6% | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 56.0% | -4.5% |
| 2003 | 53.4% | -4.6% |
| 2004 | 50.8% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 48.4% | -4.9% |
| 2006 | 46.1% | -4.7% |
| 2007 | 43.8% | -4.9% |
| 2008 | 41.6% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 39.3% | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 37.1% | -5.7% |
| 2011 | 34.9% | -6.0% |
| 2012 | 32.7% | -6.3% |
| 2013 | 30.5% | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 28.3% | -7.1% |
| 2015 | 26.2% | -7.6% |
| 2016 | 24.1% | -8.1% |
| 2017 | 22.0% | -8.8% |
| 2018 | 19.9% | -9.5% |
| 2019 | 17.8% | -10.4% |
| 2020 | 15.7% | -11.6% |
| 2021 | 13.7% | -13.0% |
| 2022 | 12.0% | -12.5% |
| 2023 | 10.3% | -13.6% |
| 2024 | 8.7% | -15.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 49.9% | 39.3% | 61.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.3% | 17.8% | 37.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.1% | 8.7% | 15.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 30 Democratic Republic of Congo 11.7% compare
- 31 Afghanistan 11.2% compare
- 32 Micronesia (country) 9.5% compare
- 34 Congo 8.4% compare
- 35 Pakistan 8.2% compare
- 36 East Timor 7.9% compare
More health data for Laos
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.76 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.5667 % change on previous year (2090)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates 1,260 (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 317 (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 0.0948 % 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 0.1462 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 0.1538 % 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 0.1522 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people practicing open defecation in Laos?
- People practicing open defecation in Laos was 8.7% 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 61.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest people practicing open defecation recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.7% in 2024.
- How does Laos rank for people practicing open defecation?
- Laos ranks 33rd out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 69.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Laos 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.