People practicing open defecation, urban in Malawi

Malawi: People practicing open defecation, urban was 0.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
0.8%
Change on year
down 7.4%
World rank
50th
of 182 countries
All-time high
2.5%
in 2000
All-time low
0.8%
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People practicing open defecation, urban in Malawi, 2000–2024

11.522.52000201220242000: 2.5 % of urban population2001: 2.4 % of urban population2002: 2.3 % of urban population2003: 2.3 % of urban population2004: 2.2 % of urban population2005: 2.1 % of urban population2006: 2.1 % of urban population2007: 2 % of urban population2008: 1.9 % of urban population2009: 1.9 % of urban population2010: 1.8 % of urban population2011: 1.7 % of urban population2012: 1.6 % of urban population2013: 1.6 % of urban population2014: 1.5 % of urban population2015: 1.4 % of urban population2016: 1.4 % of urban population2017: 1.3 % of urban population2018: 1.2 % of urban population2019: 1.2 % of urban population2020: 1.1 % of urban population2021: 1 % of urban population2022: 0.974 % of urban population2023: 0.906 % of urban population2024: 0.839 % of urban population

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

Analysis

Malawi recorded 0.8% for people practicing open defecation, urban in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 7.4% on the previous year and down 44.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation, urban in Malawi peaked at 2.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2024.

That places Malawi 50th out of 182 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, urban in Malawi, year by year

Annual values for People practicing open defecation, urban (% of urban population) in Malawi, 2000 to 2024.
Year % of urban population Change
2000 2.5%
2001 2.4% -2.7%
2002 2.3% -2.8%
2003 2.3% -2.9%
2004 2.2% -3.0%
2005 2.1% -3.1%
2006 2.1% -3.2%
2007 2.0% -3.3%
2008 1.9% -3.4%
2009 1.9% -3.5%
2010 1.8% -3.6%
2011 1.7% -3.8%
2012 1.6% -3.9%
2013 1.6% -4.1%
2014 1.5% -4.3%
2015 1.4% -4.5%
2016 1.4% -4.7%
2017 1.3% -4.9%
2018 1.2% -5.1%
2019 1.2% -5.4%
2020 1.1% -5.7%
2021 1.0% -6.1%
2022 1.0% -6.5%
2023 0.9% -6.9%
2024 0.8% -7.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.2% 1.9% 2.5% 10
2010s 1.5% 1.2% 1.8% 10
2020s 1.0% 0.8% 1.1% 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 47 Philippines 1.0% compare
  2. 48 Senegal 1.0% compare
  3. 49 Cameroon 0.9% compare
  4. 51 Naoero 0.8% compare
  5. 52 Myanmar 0.8% compare
  6. 53 El Salvador 0.8% compare

See the full ranking of 229 places →

More health data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is people practicing open defecation, urban in Malawi?
People practicing open defecation, urban in Malawi was 0.8% 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 Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 2.5% in 2000.
What is the lowest people practicing open defecation, urban recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2024.
How does Malawi rank for people practicing open defecation, urban?
Malawi ranks 50th out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
Is people practicing open defecation, urban rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 44.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi 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.

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People practicing open defecation, urban in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved 04 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/people-practicing-open-defecation-urban-percent-of-urban-population/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator
People practicing open defecation, urban (% of urban population)
Unit
% of urban 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
229 places, 5,626 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.