Open defecation prevalence (% of population)
Share of population practicing open defecation (%), 2022—an SDG sanitation indicator tracking the remaining gaps in basic human dignity and health.
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Key Insights
- •Most high-income countries have open defecation rates effectively at 0%, reflecting near-universal sanitation access.
- •A smaller group of countries still has double-digit prevalence, indicating persistent basic service gaps.
- •The indicator is a direct SDG 6.2 measure and is closely linked to child health outcomes and environmental contamination.
- •Progress can be rapid with targeted rural sanitation programs, but backsliding can occur without sustained maintenance and behavior change support.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 1.8%)
About This Statistic
This statistic measures the percentage of a country’s population that practices open defecation—defecating in fields, forests, bodies of water, or other open spaces rather than using sanitation facilities. It is one of the core SDG 6.2 indicators used to track progress on access to sanitation and hygiene, and it is strongly associated with diarrheal disease risk, child stunting, and environmental contamination.
The data are produced through the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, which harmonizes nationally representative household surveys and censuses into comparable time series. While many countries have driven rates close to zero, a smaller set still has high prevalence, making the indicator a stark view of inequality in basic services.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Sudan | 63.0% |
| 2 | Nigeria | 23.0% |
| 3 | Chad | 20.0% |
| 4 | Haiti | 17.0% |
| 5 | Ethiopia | 15.0% |
| 6 | Liberia | 13.0% |
| 7 | Guinea-Bissau | 13.0% |
| 8 | Mozambique | 12.0% |
| 9 | Senegal | 12.0% |
| 10 | Mauritania | 11.0% |
| 11 | Niger | 10.0% |
| 12 | Guinea | 9.0% |
| 13 | Pakistan | 9.0% |
| 14 | Sierra Leone | 9.0% |
| 15 | Madagascar | 8.0% |
| 16 | Yemen | 8.0% |
| 17 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 7.0% |
| 18 | Ghana | 6.0% |
| 19 | Malawi | 6.0% |
| 20 | Uganda | 6.0% |
| 21 | Burkina Faso | 6.0% |
| 22 | Zambia | 6.0% |
| 23 | Burundi | 5.0% |
| 24 | Djibouti | 5.0% |
| 25 | Kenya | 5.0% |
| 26 | Comoros | 4.0% |
| 27 | Vanuatu | 4.0% |
| 28 | Togo | 4.0% |
| 29 | Lesotho | 3.0% |
| 30 | Republic of the Congo | 2.0% |
| 31 | India | 2.0% |
| 32 | Mali | 2.0% |
| 33 | United Republic of Tanzania | 2.0% |
| 34 | Bangladesh | 2.0% |
| 35 | Guatemala | 1.0% |
| 36 | Cote d'Ivoire | 1.0% |
| 37 | Bulgaria | 0.0% |
| 38 | Myanmar | 0.0% |
| 39 | Belarus | 0.0% |
| 40 | Cambodia | 0.0% |
| 41 | Cameroon | 0.0% |
| 42 | Canada | 0.0% |
| 43 | Cape Verde | 0.0% |
| 44 | Cayman Islands | 0.0% |
| 45 | Central African Republic | 0.0% |
| 46 | Sri Lanka | 0.0% |
| 47 | Chile | 0.0% |
| 48 | People's Republic of China | 0.0% |
| 49 | Colombia | 0.0% |
| 50 | Costa Rica | 0.0% |
| 51 | Croatia | 0.0% |
| 52 | Cuba | 0.0% |
| 53 | Cyprus | 0.0% |
| 54 | Czech Republic | 0.0% |
| 55 | Benin | 0.0% |
| 56 | Denmark | 0.0% |
| 57 | Dominican Republic | 0.0% |
| 58 | Ecuador | 0.0% |
| 59 | El Salvador | 0.0% |
| 60 | Equatorial Guinea | 0.0% |
| 61 | Estonia | 0.0% |
| 62 | Faroe Islands | 0.0% |
| 63 | Fiji | 0.0% |
| 64 | Finland | 0.0% |
| 65 | France | 0.0% |
| 66 | Gabon | 0.0% |
| 67 | Georgia | 0.0% |
| 68 | Republic of The Gambia | 0.0% |
| 69 | Gibraltar | 0.0% |
| 70 | Kiribati | 0.0% |
| 71 | Greece | 0.0% |
| 72 | Guyana | 0.0% |
| 73 | Honduras | 0.0% |
| 74 | Hungary | 0.0% |
| 75 | Iceland | 0.0% |
| 76 | Indonesia | 0.0% |
| 77 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 0.0% |
| 78 | Iraq | 0.0% |
| 79 | Ireland | 0.0% |
| 80 | Israel | 0.0% |
| 81 | Italy | 0.0% |
| 82 | Jamaica | 0.0% |
| 83 | Japan | 0.0% |
| 84 | Kazakhstan | 0.0% |
| 85 | Jordan | 0.0% |
| 86 | North Korea | 0.0% |
| 87 | South Korea | 0.0% |
| 88 | Kuwait | 0.0% |
| 89 | Kyrgyzstan | 0.0% |
| 90 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 0.0% |
| 91 | Lebanon | 0.0% |
| 92 | Latvia | 0.0% |
| 93 | Libya | 0.0% |
| 94 | Lithuania | 0.0% |
| 95 | Luxembourg | 0.0% |
| 96 | Malaysia | 0.0% |
| 97 | Mauritius | 0.0% |
| 98 | Mexico | 0.0% |
| 99 | Monaco | 0.0% |
| 100 | Mongolia | 0.0% |
| 101 | Moldova, Republic of | 0.0% |
| 102 | Montenegro | 0.0% |
| 103 | Morocco | 0.0% |
| 104 | Oman | 0.0% |
| 105 | Namibia | 0.0% |
| 106 | Nepal | 0.0% |
| 107 | Netherlands | 0.0% |
| 108 | Curaçao | 0.0% |
| 109 | Aruba | 0.0% |
| 110 | New Caledonia | 0.0% |
| 111 | New Zealand | 0.0% |
| 112 | Nicaragua | 0.0% |
| 113 | Norway | 0.0% |
| 114 | Panama | 0.0% |
| 115 | Papua New Guinea | 0.0% |
| 116 | Paraguay | 0.0% |
| 117 | Peru | 0.0% |
| 118 | Philippines | 0.0% |
| 119 | Poland | 0.0% |
| 120 | Portugal | 0.0% |
| 121 | Timor-Leste | 0.0% |
| 122 | Qatar | 0.0% |
| 123 | Romania | 0.0% |
| 124 | Russian Federation | 0.0% |
| 125 | Rwanda | 0.0% |
| 126 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0.0% |
| 127 | Saint Lucia | 0.0% |
| 128 | Saint Martin (French part) | 0.0% |
| 129 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.0% |
| 130 | San Marino | 0.0% |
| 131 | Sao Tome and Principe | 0.0% |
| 132 | Saudi Arabia | 0.0% |
| 133 | Serbia | 0.0% |
| 134 | Seychelles | 0.0% |
| 135 | Singapore | 0.0% |
| 136 | Slovakia | 0.0% |
| 137 | Vietnam | 0.0% |
| 138 | Slovenia | 0.0% |
| 139 | Somalia | 0.0% |
| 140 | South Africa | 0.0% |
| 141 | Zimbabwe | 0.0% |
| 142 | Spain | 0.0% |
| 143 | Sudan | 0.0% |
| 144 | Suriname | 0.0% |
| 145 | Eswatini | 0.0% |
| 146 | Sweden | 0.0% |
| 147 | Switzerland | 0.0% |
| 148 | Syrian Arab Republic | 0.0% |
| 149 | Tajikistan | 0.0% |
| 150 | Thailand | 0.0% |
| 151 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.0% |
| 152 | United Arab Emirates | 0.0% |
| 153 | Tunisia | 0.0% |
| 154 | Türkiye | 0.0% |
| 155 | Turkmenistan | 0.0% |
| 156 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 0.0% |
| 157 | Ukraine | 0.0% |
| 158 | The Republic of North Macedonia | 0.0% |
| 159 | Egypt | 0.0% |
| 160 | United Kingdom | 0.0% |
| 161 | United States of America | 0.0% |
| 162 | Uruguay | 0.0% |
| 163 | Uzbekistan | 0.0% |
| 164 | Venezuela | 0.0% |
| 165 | Samoa | 0.0% |
| 166 | Afghanistan | 0.0% |
| 167 | Albania | 0.0% |
| 168 | Algeria | 0.0% |
| 169 | Angola | 0.0% |
| 170 | Argentina | 0.0% |
| 171 | Australia | 0.0% |
| 172 | Austria | 0.0% |
| 173 | Bahamas | 0.0% |
| 174 | Bahrain | 0.0% |
| 175 | Armenia | 0.0% |
| 176 | Barbados | 0.0% |
| 177 | Belgium | 0.0% |
| 178 | Bermuda | 0.0% |
| 179 | Bhutan | 0.0% |
| 180 | Bolivia | 0.0% |
| 181 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.0% |
| 182 | Botswana | 0.0% |
| 183 | Brazil | 0.0% |
| 184 | Belize | 0.0% |
| 185 | Solomon Islands | 0.0% |
| 186 | Brunei Darussalam | 0.0% |
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2022).
View Original Source