People practicing open defecation in Uganda
Uganda: People practicing open defecation was 3.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
People practicing open defecation in Uganda, 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 Uganda stood at 3.5%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 9.7% on the previous year and down 53.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation in Uganda peaked at 14.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 3.5%, in 2024.
That places Uganda 56th out of 214 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People practicing open defecation in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % of population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 14.0% | — |
| 2001 | 13.5% | -3.4% |
| 2002 | 13.1% | -3.5% |
| 2003 | 12.6% | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 12.1% | -3.8% |
| 2005 | 11.6% | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 11.2% | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 10.7% | -4.1% |
| 2008 | 10.3% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 9.8% | -4.4% |
| 2010 | 9.3% | -4.6% |
| 2011 | 8.9% | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 8.5% | -5.0% |
| 2013 | 8.0% | -5.2% |
| 2014 | 7.6% | -5.4% |
| 2015 | 7.2% | -5.7% |
| 2016 | 6.7% | -5.9% |
| 2017 | 6.3% | -6.2% |
| 2018 | 5.9% | -6.6% |
| 2019 | 5.5% | -6.9% |
| 2020 | 5.1% | -7.3% |
| 2021 | 4.7% | -7.8% |
| 2022 | 4.3% | -8.4% |
| 2023 | 3.9% | -9.0% |
| 2024 | 3.5% | -9.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 11.9% | 9.8% | 14.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.4% | 5.5% | 9.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.3% | 3.5% | 5.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
More health data for Uganda
- 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 1.34 % change on previous year (2090)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates 853.6 (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 6,666 (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 1.66 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.2137 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 1.77 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.2174 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people practicing open defecation in Uganda?
- People practicing open defecation in Uganda was 3.5% 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 14.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest people practicing open defecation recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.5% in 2024.
- How does Uganda rank for people practicing open defecation?
- Uganda ranks 56th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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.