People practicing open defecation, rural in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)

Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries): People practicing open defecation, rural was 0.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
0.1%
Change on year
down 30.3%
Rank
41st
of 47 groups
All-time high
0.4%
in 2002
All-time low
0.1%
in 2024
Years of data
23
2002–2024

People practicing open defecation, rural in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries), 2002–2024

0.10.20.30.42002201320242002: 0.356 % of rural population2003: 0.342 % of rural population2004: 0.327 % of rural population2005: 0.312 % of rural population2006: 0.297 % of rural population2007: 0.28 % of rural population2008: 0.265 % of rural population2009: 0.248 % of rural population2010: 0.234 % of rural population2011: 0.22 % of rural population2012: 0.201 % of rural population2013: 0.176 % of rural population2014: 0.15 % of rural population2015: 0.13 % of rural population2016: 0.121 % of rural population2017: 0.115 % of rural population2018: 0.108 % of rural population2019: 0.104 % of rural population2020: 0.095 % of rural population2021: 0.094 % of rural population2022: 0.092 % of rural population2023: 0.093 % of rural population2024: 0.065 % of rural population

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of rural population.

Analysis

Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 0.1% for people practicing open defecation, rural in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is down 30.3% on the previous year and down 57.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation, rural in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 0.4% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2024.

Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 41st of 47 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.

People practicing open defecation, rural in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries), year by year

Annual values for People practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population) in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries), 2002 to 2024.
Year % of rural population Change
2002 0.4%
2003 0.3% -3.9%
2004 0.3% -4.3%
2005 0.3% -4.7%
2006 0.3% -4.8%
2007 0.3% -5.6%
2008 0.3% -5.5%
2009 0.2% -6.2%
2010 0.2% -5.9%
2011 0.2% -6.0%
2012 0.2% -8.3%
2013 0.2% -12.5%
2014 0.2% -14.7%
2015 0.1% -13.4%
2016 0.1% -7.2%
2017 0.1% -4.9%
2018 0.1% -5.8%
2019 0.1% -4.4%
2020 0.1% -8.0%
2021 0.1% -1.3%
2022 0.1% -2.7%
2023 0.1% +1.3%
2024 0.1% -30.3%

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where People practicing open defecation, rural in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) 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.

YearChange FromTo
2024 -30.3% 0.1% 0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.3% 0.2% 0.4% 8
2010s 0.2% 0.1% 0.2% 10
2020s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 5

Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)

  1. 38 Mongolia 13.7% compare
  2. 39 Pakistan 13.0% compare
  3. 40 Timor-Leste 11.7% compare
  4. 41 Senegal 11.3% compare
  5. 42 India 10.7% compare
  6. 43 Tanzania, United Republic of 10.6% compare
  7. 44 Cape Verde 10.1% compare

See the full ranking of 218 places →

More health data for Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)

All data for Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) →

Frequently asked questions

What is people practicing open defecation, rural in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
People practicing open defecation, rural in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) was 0.1% 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, rural recorded in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The highest recorded value was 0.4% in 2002.
What is the lowest people practicing open defecation, rural recorded in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2024.
How does Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) rank for people practicing open defecation, rural?
Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries) ranks 41st out of 47 groups with data for 2024.
Is people practicing open defecation, rural rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries)?
Over the last ten years it is down 57.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Europe & Central Asia (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, rural (% of rural population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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People practicing open defecation, rural in Europe & Central Asia (IDA & IBRD countries). Statizoid, drawing on WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved 14 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/people-practicing-open-defecation-rural-percent-of-rural-population/europe-and-central-asia-ida-and-ibrd-countries/

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About this data

Indicator
People practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population)
Unit
% of rural population
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
218 places, 5,299 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.