People practicing open defecation (% of population) in South Africa
South Africa: People practicing open defecation (% of population) was 0.3% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
People practicing open defecation in South Africa, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 0.3% for people practicing open defecation in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 18.0% on the previous year and down 92.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation in South Africa peaked at 11.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2024.
South Africa ranks 95th of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
People practicing open defecation (% of population) in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 11.4% | — |
| 2001 | 10.8% | -5.3% |
| 2002 | 10.2% | -5.6% |
| 2003 | 9.6% | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 9.1% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 8.5% | -6.3% |
| 2006 | 7.9% | -6.6% |
| 2007 | 7.4% | -7.0% |
| 2008 | 6.8% | -7.3% |
| 2009 | 6.3% | -7.8% |
| 2010 | 5.8% | -8.3% |
| 2011 | 5.3% | -8.8% |
| 2012 | 4.8% | -9.5% |
| 2013 | 4.3% | -10.2% |
| 2014 | 3.8% | -11.2% |
| 2015 | 3.3% | -12.3% |
| 2016 | 2.9% | -13.7% |
| 2017 | 2.4% | -15.5% |
| 2018 | 2.0% | -18.0% |
| 2019 | 1.6% | -21.4% |
| 2020 | 1.1% | -26.7% |
| 2021 | 0.7% | -35.5% |
| 2022 | 0.4% | -46.3% |
| 2023 | 0.3% | -15.0% |
| 2024 | 0.3% | -18.0% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 0.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.3%, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 0.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.1%, 2% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where People practicing open defecation (% of population) in South Africa changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -46.3% | 0.7% | 0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.8% | 6.3% | 11.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.6% | 1.6% | 5.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 1.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More health data for South Africa
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.2 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1386 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 3,333 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.5504 % 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 0.045 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.0003 % 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 0.046 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people practicing open defecation in South Africa?
- People practicing open defecation in South Africa was 0.3% 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 11.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest people practicing open defecation recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2024.
- How does South Africa rank for people practicing open defecation?
- South Africa ranks 95th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people practicing open defecation rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 92.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Africa 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.