People practicing open defecation, rural in World
World: People practicing open defecation, rural was 9.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
People practicing open defecation, rural in World, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of rural population.
Analysis
In 2024, people practicing open defecation, rural in World stood at 9.2%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 11.8% on the previous year and down 57.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation, rural in World peaked at 36.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 2024.
That places World 19th out of 45 groups 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, rural in World, year by year
| Year | % of rural population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 36.7% | — |
| 2001 | 35.7% | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 34.3% | -3.9% |
| 2003 | 33.4% | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 32.5% | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 31.4% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 30.4% | -3.4% |
| 2007 | 29.3% | -3.4% |
| 2008 | 28.2% | -3.8% |
| 2009 | 27.1% | -3.9% |
| 2010 | 26.0% | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 25.1% | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 24.0% | -4.5% |
| 2013 | 22.9% | -4.7% |
| 2014 | 21.7% | -5.1% |
| 2015 | 20.6% | -5.3% |
| 2016 | 19.3% | -6.0% |
| 2017 | 18.2% | -5.7% |
| 2018 | 17.0% | -6.8% |
| 2019 | 15.7% | -7.4% |
| 2020 | 14.4% | -8.3% |
| 2021 | 13.1% | -8.8% |
| 2022 | 11.8% | -9.9% |
| 2023 | 10.4% | -11.9% |
| 2024 | 9.2% | -11.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.9% | 27.1% | 36.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.0% | 15.7% | 26.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.8% | 9.2% | 14.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near World
- 16 Madagascar 36.5% compare
- 17 Mauritania 36.3% compare
- 18 Haiti 31.5% compare
- 19 Nigeria 31.2% compare
- 20 Cote d'Ivoire 31.0% compare
- 21 Ghana 30.8% compare
- 22 Somalia 26.4% compare
More health data for World
- Population ages 75-79, female, annual growth rate 6.56 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, female, per capita 0.0108 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, male, annual growth rate 6.17 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 75-79, male, per capita 0.0084 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, female, annual growth rate 2.44 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, female, per capita 0.0126 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, male, annual growth rate 3.06 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people practicing open defecation, rural in World?
- People practicing open defecation, rural in World was 9.2% 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 World?
- The highest recorded value was 36.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest people practicing open defecation, rural recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.2% in 2024.
- How does World rank for people practicing open defecation, rural?
- World ranks 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2024.
- Is people practicing open defecation, rural rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 57.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this World 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.
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.