People practicing open defecation, urban (% of urban population) in Cameroon
Cameroon: People practicing open defecation, urban (% of urban population) was 0.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
People practicing open defecation, urban in Cameroon, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
In 2024, people practicing open defecation, urban in Cameroon stood at 0.9%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 7.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation, urban in Cameroon peaked at 1.1% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 2024.
Cameroon ranks 49th of 182 countries on this measure, 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, urban (% of urban population) in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.1% | — |
| 2001 | 1.1% | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 1.1% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2006 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 0.9% | -0.7% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | -0.7% |
| 2020 | 0.9% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 0.9% | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 0.9% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 0.9% | -0.8% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 0.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 1.0%, 94% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 0.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.9%, 49% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.9% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.9% | 0.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More health data for Cameroon
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.28 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7821 % change on previous year (2090)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 12,841 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 17 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.22 % 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 0.0746 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.21 % 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 0.076 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people practicing open defecation, urban in Cameroon?
- People practicing open defecation, urban in Cameroon was 0.9% 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, urban recorded in Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 1.1% in 2000.
- What is the lowest people practicing open defecation, urban recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 2024.
- How does Cameroon rank for people practicing open defecation, urban?
- Cameroon ranks 49th out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people practicing open defecation, urban rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon 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, urban (% of urban 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.