People practicing open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries): People practicing open defecation was 15.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
People practicing open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 15.5% 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 3.9% on the previous year and down 32.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 31.9% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 15.5%, in 2024.
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 7th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People practicing open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 31.9% | — |
| 2001 | 31.3% | -1.9% |
| 2002 | 30.7% | -2.1% |
| 2003 | 30.0% | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 29.4% | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 28.7% | -2.4% |
| 2006 | 28.0% | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 27.3% | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 26.5% | -2.7% |
| 2009 | 25.8% | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 25.1% | -2.8% |
| 2011 | 24.9% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 24.2% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 23.5% | -2.9% |
| 2014 | 22.8% | -3.1% |
| 2015 | 22.0% | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 21.3% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 20.4% | -4.1% |
| 2018 | 19.8% | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 19.1% | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 18.4% | -3.6% |
| 2021 | 17.7% | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 17.0% | -3.7% |
| 2023 | 16.1% | -5.4% |
| 2024 | 15.5% | -3.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.0% | 25.8% | 31.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.3% | 19.1% | 25.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.9% | 15.5% | 18.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
More health data for Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Population ages 55-59, female, annual growth rate 3.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 60-64, female, annual growth rate 3.05 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, per capita 0.0114 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, male, annual growth rate 3.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per capita 0.0125 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, annual growth rate 3.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, female, per capita 0.0156 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people practicing open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- People practicing open defecation in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) was 15.5% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 31.9% in 2000.
- What is the lowest people practicing open defecation recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.5% in 2024.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for people practicing open defecation?
- Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 7th out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
- Is people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 32.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.