⚠️ Unconfirmedhealth2022
Share of the population that washes hands with soap and water after using the toilet (%)
Modeled share of each country’s population that washes hands with soap and water after using the toilet, based on survey data compiled by UNICEF/WHO.
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene•182 countries
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Key Insights
Global Average
53.2%
Median: 59.0%
Countries Covered
182
with available data
Highest
Iceland
90.0%
Lowest
South Sudan
6.0%
Top 5 Countries
1Iceland90.0%
2Israel90.0%
3Singapore90.0%
4Norway88.0%
5Sweden88.0%
By Region
Oceania86.0%(2 countries)
Europe79.6%(32 countries)
South America69.3%(7 countries)
North America68.3%(4 countries)
Asia65.0%(25 countries)
Key Findings
- •Estimated rates vary widely across countries, with some below 15%, underscoring major hygiene gaps.
- •Higher-income countries generally cluster at the upper end, but substantial variation exists even among middle-income countries.
- •Because behavior measurement is noisy, changes over time should be interpreted with caution unless supported by multiple survey rounds.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Low (5.0%)High (99.0%)
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 53.2%)
Oceania (2)
Europe (32)
South America (7)
North America (4)
Asia (25)
Other (103)
Africa (9)
About This Statistic
This statistic estimates the percentage of a country’s population that practices handwashing with soap and water after using the toilet. It is an important hygiene behavior linked to lower transmission of diarrheal diseases and other infections.
The figures are modeled by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) using nationally representative household surveys (such as DHS and MICS) and other official sources. Because direct observation questions and survey years vary across countries, JMP produces harmonized estimates to improve cross-country comparability, but results should still be interpreted as modeled approximations rather than precise measurements.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Iceland | 90.0% |
| 2 | Israel | 90.0% |
| 3 | Singapore | 90.0% |
| 4 | Norway | 88.0% |
| 5 | Sweden | 88.0% |
| 6 | Switzerland | 88.0% |
| 7 | Netherlands | 87.0% |
| 8 | Finland | 86.0% |
| 9 | New Zealand | 86.0% |
| 10 | Australia | 86.0% |
| 11 | Denmark | 85.0% |
| 12 | Japan | 85.0% |
| 13 | South Korea | 85.0% |
| 14 | Germany | 84.0% |
| 15 | Ireland | 84.0% |
| 16 | United Kingdom | 84.0% |
| 17 | Bahamas | 83.0% |
| 18 | Barbados | 83.0% |
| 19 | Canada | 82.0% |
| 20 | Spain | 82.0% |
| 21 | United States of America | 82.0% |
| 22 | Qatar | 81.0% |
| 23 | United Arab Emirates | 81.0% |
| 24 | France | 80.0% |
| 25 | Estonia | 79.0% |
| 26 | Italy | 79.0% |
| 27 | Lithuania | 79.0% |
| 28 | Luxembourg | 79.0% |
| 29 | Slovenia | 79.0% |
| 30 | Uruguay | 79.0% |
| 31 | Argentina | 79.0% |
| 32 | Bahrain | 79.0% |
| 33 | People's Republic of China | 78.0% |
| 34 | Greece | 78.0% |
| 35 | Kuwait | 78.0% |
| 36 | Latvia | 78.0% |
| 37 | Portugal | 78.0% |
| 38 | Saudi Arabia | 78.0% |
| 39 | Austria | 78.0% |
| 40 | Armenia | 78.0% |
| 41 | Belgium | 78.0% |
| 42 | Poland | 77.0% |
| 43 | Slovakia | 77.0% |
| 44 | Czech Republic | 76.0% |
| 45 | North Korea | 76.0% |
| 46 | Oman | 76.0% |
| 47 | Serbia | 75.0% |
| 48 | Belarus | 74.0% |
| 49 | Croatia | 74.0% |
| 50 | Faroe Islands | 74.0% |
| 51 | Hungary | 74.0% |
| 52 | Jordan | 74.0% |
| 53 | Montenegro | 74.0% |
| 54 | Russian Federation | 74.0% |
| 55 | Bermuda | 74.0% |
| 56 | Cyprus | 73.0% |
| 57 | Malaysia | 73.0% |
| 58 | Georgia | 72.0% |
| 59 | Romania | 72.0% |
| 60 | Ukraine | 72.0% |
| 61 | Brazil | 72.0% |
| 62 | Lebanon | 71.0% |
| 63 | Mauritius | 71.0% |
| 64 | Türkiye | 71.0% |
| 65 | The Republic of North Macedonia | 71.0% |
| 66 | Azerbaijan | 71.0% |
| 67 | Chile | 70.0% |
| 68 | Maldives | 70.0% |
| 69 | Thailand | 70.0% |
| 70 | Mexico | 69.0% |
| 71 | State of Palestine | 67.0% |
| 72 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 67.0% |
| 73 | Bhutan | 67.0% |
| 74 | Costa Rica | 66.0% |
| 75 | Moldova, Republic of | 66.0% |
| 76 | Bulgaria | 65.0% |
| 77 | Philippines | 64.0% |
| 78 | Trinidad and Tobago | 64.0% |
| 79 | Albania | 64.0% |
| 80 | Cayman Islands | 63.0% |
| 81 | Colombia | 63.0% |
| 82 | Kazakhstan | 63.0% |
| 83 | Uzbekistan | 63.0% |
| 84 | Peru | 62.0% |
| 85 | Bolivia | 62.0% |
| 86 | Dominica | 61.0% |
| 87 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 61.0% |
| 88 | Tunisia | 61.0% |
| 89 | Ecuador | 60.0% |
| 90 | Paraguay | 60.0% |
| 91 | Cuba | 59.0% |
| 92 | Suriname | 59.0% |
| 93 | Syrian Arab Republic | 59.0% |
| 94 | Fiji | 58.0% |
| 95 | Libya | 58.0% |
| 96 | Venezuela | 58.0% |
| 97 | Puerto Rico | 57.0% |
| 98 | Afghanistan | 57.0% |
| 99 | Guyana | 56.0% |
| 100 | Indonesia | 56.0% |
| 101 | Jamaica | 55.0% |
| 102 | Malta | 55.0% |
| 103 | Mongolia | 55.0% |
| 104 | Morocco | 55.0% |
| 105 | Vietnam | 55.0% |
| 106 | Botswana | 55.0% |
| 107 | Central African Republic | 54.0% |
| 108 | Turkmenistan | 54.0% |
| 109 | India | 53.0% |
| 110 | Panama | 53.0% |
| 111 | New Caledonia | 52.0% |
| 112 | Belize | 52.0% |
| 113 | Pakistan | 48.0% |
| 114 | Tajikistan | 48.0% |
| 115 | Algeria | 48.0% |
| 116 | Solomon Islands | 47.0% |
| 117 | Sri Lanka | 46.0% |
| 118 | Honduras | 46.0% |
| 119 | Dominican Republic | 45.0% |
| 120 | Kyrgyzstan | 45.0% |
| 121 | Papua New Guinea | 45.0% |
| 122 | Iraq | 44.0% |
| 123 | South Africa | 43.0% |
| 124 | El Salvador | 41.0% |
| 125 | Guatemala | 40.0% |
| 126 | Egypt | 40.0% |
| 127 | Nicaragua | 39.0% |
| 128 | Nepal | 37.0% |
| 129 | Benin | 36.0% |
| 130 | Andorra | 36.0% |
| 131 | Eswatini | 35.0% |
| 132 | Namibia | 32.0% |
| 133 | Antigua and Barbuda | 32.0% |
| 134 | Timor-Leste | 30.0% |
| 135 | Cambodia | 29.0% |
| 136 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 29.0% |
| 137 | Zimbabwe | 28.0% |
| 138 | Myanmar | 26.0% |
| 139 | Ghana | 25.0% |
| 140 | Cote d'Ivoire | 24.0% |
| 141 | Sudan | 24.0% |
| 142 | Brunei Darussalam | 23.0% |
| 143 | Djibouti | 22.0% |
| 144 | Senegal | 22.0% |
| 145 | Bangladesh | 22.0% |
| 146 | Kenya | 21.0% |
| 147 | Nigeria | 21.0% |
| 148 | Togo | 21.0% |
| 149 | Burundi | 20.0% |
| 150 | Republic of The Gambia | 19.0% |
| 151 | Gabon | 18.0% |
| 152 | Mauritania | 18.0% |
| 153 | Burkina Faso | 18.0% |
| 154 | Republic of the Congo | 17.0% |
| 155 | Equatorial Guinea | 17.0% |
| 156 | Liberia | 17.0% |
| 157 | Yemen | 17.0% |
| 158 | Zambia | 16.0% |
| 159 | Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | 15.0% |
| 160 | Lesotho | 15.0% |
| 161 | Comoros | 14.0% |
| 162 | Haiti | 14.0% |
| 163 | Guinea-Bissau | 14.0% |
| 164 | Sierra Leone | 14.0% |
| 165 | Angola | 14.0% |
| 166 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 13.0% |
| 167 | Eritrea | 13.0% |
| 168 | Guinea | 13.0% |
| 169 | Mali | 13.0% |
| 170 | Mozambique | 12.0% |
| 171 | Uganda | 12.0% |
| 172 | Chad | 11.0% |
| 173 | Malawi | 11.0% |
| 174 | Cameroon | 10.0% |
| 175 | Madagascar | 10.0% |
| 176 | Niger | 10.0% |
| 177 | Cape Verde | 9.0% |
| 178 | Somalia | 9.0% |
| 179 | United Republic of Tanzania | 9.0% |
| 180 | Ethiopia | 7.0% |
| 181 | Rwanda | 7.0% |
| 182 | South Sudan | 6.0% |
Showing 182 of 182 countries
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2022).
View Original Source