Handwashing facilities — all countries

Handwashing facilities — Sierra Leone

Handwashing facilities in Sierra Leone in 2024 — 18.7%. Ranked 80 in the world out of 91. Since 2004, the indicator has risen by 8 pp.

2024 18.7% +0.4 pp vs 2023
World rank 80of 91
Period maximum 18.7%2024
Period minimum 10.7%2004

Trend over time

2004–2024 · % of population

Handwashing facilities — Sierra Leone, 2004–20241012.51517.520200420062008201020122014201620182020202220242004: 10.7%2005: 10.8%2006: 10.8%2007: 10.9%2008: 10.9%2009: 11.5%2010: 12%2011: 12.5%2012: 13%2013: 13.5%2014: 14%2015: 14.5%2016: 15%2017: 15.5%2018: 16%2019: 16.4%2020: 16.9%2021: 17.4%2022: 17.8%2023: 18.3%2024: 18.7%
Change over the period: +8 pp Annual average: 0.4 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone 18.7%
World 78%
Western Africa computed 29.3%
Low-income countries computed 24.6%
Handwashing facilities — Sierra Leone, by year Sierra Leone All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 18.7 +0.4 pp
2023 18.3 +0.5 pp
2022 17.8 +0.5 pp
2021 17.4 +0.5 pp
2020 16.9 +0.5 pp
2019 16.4 +0.5 pp
2018 16 +0.5 pp
2017 15.5 +0.5 pp
2016 15 +0.5 pp
2015 14.5 +0.5 pp
2014 14 +0.5 pp
2013 13.5 +0.5 pp
2012 13 +0.5 pp
2011 12.5 +0.5 pp
2010 12 +0.5 pp
2009 11.5 +0.5 pp
2008 10.9 +0.1 pp
2007 10.9 +0.1 pp
2006 10.8 +0.1 pp
2005 10.8 +0 pp
2004 10.7

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.