Sanitation
Universal access to adequate sanitation is a fundamental need and human right. Securing access for all would go a long way in reducing illness and death, especially among children. “Safely managed” sanitation services represent a higher service level that takes into account the final disposal of excreta, in addition to the “basic” service level which requires an improved sanitation facility (such as flush toilets or latrine with a slab) not shared with other households.
Between 2015 and 2024, 1.2 billion people gained access to safely managed sanitation services, raising global coverage from 48% to 58%. In 2024, 3.4 billion people still lacked safely managed sanitation services. As of 2024, 3.4 billion people still lacked safely managed sanitation services. Of these, approximately 1.9 billion used basic services, while 1.5 billion lacked even basic sanitation: 560 million had limited services (shared facilities), 555 million used unimproved facilities, and 354 million practiced open defecation.
Despite encouraging progress on sanitation, much unfinished business remains and large disparities in access still exist in 2024. Almost all developed countries have achieved universal access, but sanitation coverage varies widely in developing countries. In 2024, 64 countries had already achieved universal access (>99%) to at least basic sanitation services. Nine countries had already achieved universal access (>99%) to safely managed services and if current trends continue 18 will have reached universal access by 2030.
The data reveal stark inequalities: Open defecation rates in low-income countries remain four times higher than the global average; this is the only income group not on track to eliminate open defecation by 2030.To achieve universal access to basic WASH services (SDG 1.4), low-income countries would require an 18-fold increase in basic sanitation. In fragile contexts, coverage of safely managed drinking water is 33 % percentage points lower than in other countries.
The region of Australia and New Zealand has already achieved universal access to basic sanitation services, and the Eastern and South-Eastern Asia region is on track to achieve universal access by 2030, but the overall rate of progress will need to increase threefold to meet the global SDG target 1.4. No SDG region is on track to achieve universal access to safely managed services by 2030 and the overall rate of progress will need to increase sixfold to meet the global SDG target 6.2b.
Open defecation
Open defecation refers to the practise of defecating in fields, forests, bushes, bodies of water or other open spaces. Defecating in the open is an affront to dignity and risk to children’s nutrition and to community health. The elimination of open defecation is recognized as a top priority for improving health, nutrition and productivity of developing country populations and is explicitly mentioned in SDG target 6.2.
The global population practising open defecation dropped by more than half between 2015 and 2024, from 10% to 4%, equivalent to a reduction of 430 million people (from 784 million in 2015 to 354 million in 2024).
Open defecation was eliminated (<1%) in Latin America and the Caribbean as well as in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, and nearly eliminated in Northern Africa and Western Asia (reaching 1.9% in 2024).
Drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) estimates
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WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene
Since 1990, WHO and UNICEF have tracked progress on global water and sanitation goals through the Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (JMP). The JMP monitors trends in coverage; helps build national monitoring capacity in developing countries; develops and harmonises questionnaires, indicators and definitions to ensure comparability of data over time and among countries; and informs policymakers of the status of the water supply and sanitation sector through annual publications. The JMP draws guidance from a technical advisory group of leading experts in water supply, sanitation and hygiene, and from institutions involved in data collection and sector monitoring. Further information about the JMP and its methodology can be found at the JMP website.
Data sources
The JMP estimates for WASH in households are based on information collected through national data from a wide range of different data sources, censuses and surveys, as well as secondary sources in the absence of primary data. Data are harmonized to the extent possible based on internationally agreed indicator definitions. Further details on indicators, data sources and methods for WASH in households estimates can be found at the JMP website, including recommended core questions to support harmonized monitoring: Core questions and indicators for monitoring WASH in households in the SDGs.
Definitions of sanitation services in households
The JMP service ladder for sanitation defines five levels of service, ranging from ‘open defecation’ (no service) to ‘safely managed’ which is the global indicator on sanitation for SDG target 6.2. It builds on the established improved/unimproved facility type classification and includes additional aspects of the quality of service.
Improved facilities include flush/pour flush to piped sewer systems, septic tanks or pit latrines; pit latrines with slabs and composting toilets (including twin pit latrines with slabs and container-based sanitation). For SDG monitoring, populations using improved facilities are divided into three categories. If the improved facility is shared with other households it counts as a ‘limited’ service, and if it is not shared with other households it counts as a ‘basic’ service. But to meet the SDG standard for a ‘safely managed’ service, excreta must either be safely disposed of in situ or removed and treated off-site. The JMP also tracks the population using ‘unimproved’ facilities (including pit latrines without a slab or platform, hanging latrines or bucket latrines) and those practising ‘open defecation’ (disposal of faeces in fields, forests, bushes, open bodies of water, beaches or other open places, or with solid waste.
Since households with ‘safely managed’ services also meet the criteria for ‘basic’ services, these two categories can also be grouped together as ‘at least basic services’, which is one of the tracer indicators used for monitoring progress towards SDG target 1.4 on universal access to basic services.