Handwashing facilities — all countries

Handwashing facilities — Low-income countries

Handwashing facilities in low-income countries in 2024 — 24.6%. Since 2007, the indicator has risen by 6 pp.

2024 24.6% +0.8 pp vs 2023
World rank
Period maximum 24.6%2024
Period minimum 17.6%2010

Trend over time

2007–2024 · % of population

Handwashing facilities — Low-income countries, 2007–202416182022242620072009201120132015201720192021202320242007: 18.5%2008: 19.8%2009: 20.2%2010: 17.6%2011: 18%2012: 22.1%2013: 22.3%2014: 21.6%2015: 21.7%2016: 21.8%2017: 21.9%2018: 22%2019: 22.2%2020: 22.4%2021: 22.5%2022: 22.7%2023: 23.8%2024: 24.6%
Change over the period: +6 pp Annual average: 0.36 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Low-income countries

Low-income countries 24.6%
World 78%
Handwashing facilities — Low-income countries, by year Low-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 24.6 +0.8 pp
2023 23.8 +1.1 pp
2022 22.7 +0.2 pp
2021 22.5 +0.1 pp
2020 22.4 +0.1 pp
2019 22.2 +0.2 pp
2018 22 +0.1 pp
2017 21.9 +0.1 pp
2016 21.8 +0.1 pp
2015 21.7 +0 pp
2014 21.6 −0.7 pp
2013 22.3 +0.3 pp
2012 22.1 +4 pp
2011 18 +0.4 pp
2010 17.6 −2.5 pp
2009 20.2 +0.4 pp
2008 19.8 +1.3 pp
2007 18.5

About the indicator

The share of the population that has an equipped place for washing hands with water and soap in the dwelling. The indicator looks a small one next to piped water and sewerage, but in its contribution to reducing diarrheal and respiratory disease it is comparable to them, and it costs incomparably less. The COVID-19 pandemic made it visible: it turned out that in the poorest countries of Africa fewer than a quarter of the population have facilities for washing hands.

Important: Not all countries are surveyed: where practically everyone has such facilities, these data are not collected. That is why the aggregate by country group is computed only where coverage is sufficient — averaging the surveyed countries alone would give a picture noticeably worse than the reality.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.