Safely managed sanitation — all countries

Safely managed sanitation — South America

Safely managed sanitation in South America in 2024 — 49.6%. Since 2000, the indicator has risen by 16.4 pp.

2024 49.6% +0.7 pp vs 2023
World rank
Period maximum 49.6%2024
Period minimum 33.2%2000

Trend over time

2000–2024 · % of population

Safely managed sanitation — South America, 2000–202430354045502000200320062009201220152018202120242000: 33.2%2001: 33.5%2002: 33.8%2003: 34.2%2004: 34.5%2005: 34.9%2006: 35.3%2007: 36%2008: 36.7%2009: 37.4%2010: 38.2%2011: 39.1%2012: 40.1%2013: 41.2%2014: 42.2%2015: 43.3%2016: 44%2017: 44.4%2018: 45.2%2019: 46.1%2020: 46.8%2021: 47.5%2022: 48.2%2023: 48.9%2024: 49.6%
Change over the period: +16.4 pp Annual average: 0.68 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: South America

South America 49.6%
World 58.5%
Safely managed sanitation — South America, by year South America All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 49.6 +0.7 pp
2023 48.9 +0.7 pp
2022 48.2 +0.7 pp
2021 47.5 +0.7 pp
2020 46.8 +0.7 pp
2019 46.1 +0.8 pp
2018 45.2 +0.9 pp
2017 44.4 +0.3 pp
2016 44 +0.7 pp
2015 43.3 +1.1 pp
2014 42.2 +1.1 pp
2013 41.2 +1 pp
2012 40.1 +1 pp
2011 39.1 +1 pp
2010 38.2 +0.7 pp
2009 37.4 +0.7 pp
2008 36.7 +0.7 pp
2007 36 +0.7 pp
2006 35.3 +0.4 pp
2005 34.9 +0.4 pp
2004 34.5 +0.4 pp
2003 34.2 +0.3 pp
2002 33.8 +0.3 pp
2001 33.5 +0.3 pp
2000 33.2

About the indicator

The share of the population with safely managed sanitation — the top rung of the WHO and UNICEF ladder. Having a separate toilet is not enough: the waste must either be treated on the spot or removed and treated elsewhere. It is the second condition that makes the indicator far more demanding than basic sanitation: in many large cities almost everyone has a toilet, but there are no treatment facilities for the whole volume of wastewater, and by this measure a country turns out to be noticeably lower.

Important: It accounts not only for the presence of a toilet but also for the fate of the wastewater, so the values are substantially lower than those of basic sanitation.

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