People practicing open defecation (% of population) in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: People practicing open defecation (% of population) was 15.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
People practicing open defecation in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for people practicing open defecation in Papua New Guinea is 15.6%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 7.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation in Papua New Guinea peaked at 15.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 13.3%, in 2000.
Papua New Guinea ranks 25th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
People practicing open defecation (% of population) in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 13.3% | — |
| 2001 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 13.3% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 13.5% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 13.6% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 13.7% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 13.8% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 13.9% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 14.1% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 14.2% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 14.3% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 14.4% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 14.5% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 14.7% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 14.8% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 14.9% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 15.0% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 15.1% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 15.2% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 15.3% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 15.4% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 15.5% | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 15.6% | +0.6% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 15.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.7%, 2.3× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 15.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.2%, 98.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.5% | 13.3% | 13.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.6% | 14.1% | 15.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.4% | 15.2% | 15.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 22 Mauritania 16.2% compare
- 23 Mozambique 16.0% compare
- 24 Djibouti 15.9% compare
- 26 Sierra Leone 15.3% compare
- 27 Lesotho 14.8% compare
- 28 Somalia 14.4% compare
More health data for Papua New Guinea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.77 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3741 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 2,501 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2023)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.27 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0555 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.2621 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0594 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people practicing open defecation in Papua New Guinea?
- People practicing open defecation in Papua New Guinea was 15.6% 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 15.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest people practicing open defecation recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.3% in 2000.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for people practicing open defecation?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 25th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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
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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.