Percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services was 35 % in 2024. ▲ Rising
Percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa stood at 35 %. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 16.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 35 % in 2022 and was at its lowest, 22 %, in 2000.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 29th of 30 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 22 % | — |
| 2001 | 22 % | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 23 % | +4.5% |
| 2003 | 24 % | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 24 % | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 24 % | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 25 % | +4.2% |
| 2007 | 26 % | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 26 % | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 27 % | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 28 % | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 28 % | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 28 % | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 29 % | +3.6% |
| 2014 | 30 % | +3.4% |
| 2015 | 30 % | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 31 % | +3.3% |
| 2017 | 32 % | +3.2% |
| 2018 | 32 % | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 33 % | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 34 % | +3.0% |
| 2021 | 34 % | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 35 % | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 35 % | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 35 % | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.3 % | 22 % | 27 % | 10 |
| 2010s | 30.1 % | 28 % | 33 % | 10 |
| 2020s | 34.6 % | 34 % | 35 % | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
- 32 Albania 99 % compare
- 32 Azerbaijan 99 % compare
- 32 Canada 99 % compare
- 32 Cook Islands 99 % compare
- 32 Costa Rica 99 % compare
- 32 Czechia 99 % compare
- 32 Estonia 99 % compare
- 32 Finland 99 % compare
- 32 France 99 % compare
- 32 Germany 99 % compare
- 32 Greece 99 % compare
- 32 Iceland 99 % compare
- 32 Lebanon 99 % compare
- 32 North Macedonia 99 % compare
- 32 Oman 99 % compare
- 32 Palau 99 % compare
- 32 Palestine, State of 99 % compare
- 32 Poland 99 % compare
- 32 Sweden 99 % compare
- 32 Thailand 99 % compare
- 32 United Arab Emirates 99 % compare
- 32 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 99 % compare
- 32 Uruguay 99 % compare
More agriculture & rural data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 10.7 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.5534 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.1791 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 299.6 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 2.6% (2024)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 395.96 billion current US$ (2025)
- Rural population 731.42 million (2025)
- Rural population growth 1.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa was 35 % in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 35 % in 2022.
- What is the lowest percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 22 % in 2000.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 29th out of 30 groups with data for 2024.
- Is percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Percentage of population using at least basic sanitation services (percent) — Value. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
The Suite of Food Security Indicators presents the core set of food security indicators. Following the recommendation of experts gathered in the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Round Table on hunger measurement, hosted at FAO headquarters in September 2011, an initial set of indicators aiming to capture various aspects of food insecurity is presented here. The choice of the indicators has been informed by expert judgement and the availability of data with sufficient coverage to enable comparisons across regions and over time. Many of these indicators are produced and published elsewhere by FAO and other international organizations. They are reported here in a single database with the aim of building a wide food security information system. More indicators will be added to this set as more data will become available. Indicators are classified along the four dimensions of food security -- availability, access, utilization and stability.