Health > Access to sanitation: Countries Compared

Author: Luke.Metcalfe

This measure is defined as the proportion of the population with access to improved sanitation facilities. These facilities prevent contact with human excrement and prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Improved sanitation facilities include: piped sewer systems (flush or pour-flush), septic tanks or pit latrines; ventilated improved pit latrines; pit latrines with slabs; and composting toilets.

Access to improved sanitation facilities is vital in preventing morbidity and mortality from water borne diseases. It is estimated that 1.6 million people die from diarrheal diseases annually due to lack of basic sanitation, most of them children under 5 years old. Other diseases related to poor sanitation include schistosomiasis with 160 million infected, intestinal helminthes with 133 million infected and hepatitis A with 1.5 million new cases per year. Infection with trachoma is also related to poor hygiene, and is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the world.

Between 1990 and 2011, the percentage of people with no access to improved sanitation facilities has decreased from 85% to 75%. However, up to 40% of the world’s population still has no access to improved sanitation facilities. The lowest rates are in sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia and Eastern Asia, at 37%, 38% and 45%, respectively. Low income populations living in rural areas have the lowest coverage rates.

The problem of inadequate sanitation poses an economic burden to affected countries due to the medical cost of hygiene related diseases and loss of income and productivity in those affected. The investment in improving sanitation can generate up to nine times its cost in economic benefits. The improvement in life expectancy at birth by 10 years can increase a country’s economic growth by 0.3 to 0.4% annually.

Citations:

1) World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2013. http://www.who.int/gho/publications/worldhealthstatistics/ENWHS2013Full.pdf

2) World Health Organization. Water and sanitation health: health through safe drinking water and basic sanitation. http://www.who.int/watersanitationhealth/mdg1/en/

3) World Health Organization. 10 things you need to know about sanitation. http://www.unwater.org/downloads/media/sanitation/10Things.pdf

SHOW ALL

LESS

DEFINITION: The percentage of the total population with access to sanitation facilities.

SHOW ALL

LESS

CONTENTS

MAP
INTERESTING
Q+A

SHARE TWEET EMBED EXPORT

Totals

#	COUNTRY	AMOUNT	DATE
=1	Canada	100%	2003
=1	Netherlands	100%	2003
=1	Turkey	100%	2003
=1	Slovakia	100%	2003
=1	Finland	100%	2003
=1	Barbados	100%	2003
=1	Australia	100%	2003
=1	Morocco	100%	2003
=1	Maldives	100%	2003
=1	Mexico	100%	2003
=1	United Kingdom	100%	2003
=1	Lithuania	100%	2003
=1	Saint Lucia	100%	2003
=1	Cyprus	100%	2003
=1	Armenia	100%	2003
=1	United States	100%	2003
=1	Sweden	100%	2003
=1	Austria	100%	2003
=1	Switzerland	100%	2003
=1	Malta	100%	2003
=1	Singapore	100%	2003
=22	Dominica	99%	2003
=22	Thailand	99%	2003
=22	Georgia	99%	2003
=22	Fiji	99%	2003
=22	Hungary	99%	2003
=22	Saudi Arabia	99%	2003
=22	Cuba	99%	2003
=22	Iran	99%	2003
=22	Kazakhstan	99%	2003
=31	Papua New Guinea	98%	2003
=31	The Bahamas	98%	2003
=31	Gabon	98%	2003
=34	Panama	97%	2003
=34	Tunisia	97%	2003
=36	Jamaica	96%	2003
=36	Romania	96%	2003
=36	Chile	96%	2003
=36	Croatia	96%	2003
40	Trinidad and Tobago	95%	2003
=41	Ecuador	94%	2003
=41	Peru	94%	2003
=41	Uruguay	94%	2003
=44	Costa Rica	93%	2003
=44	Ukraine	93%	2003
=46	El Salvador	92%	2003
=46	Suriname	92%	2003
=46	Bulgaria	92%	2003
=49	The Gambia	91%	2003
=49	Grenada	91%	2003
=51	Dominican Republic	90%	2003
=51	Rwanda	90%	2003
=51	South Africa	90%	2003
=54	Venezuela	89%	2003
=54	Sri Lanka	89%	2003
56	Ethiopia	88%	2003
=57	Jordan	87%	2003
=57	Pakistan	87%	2003
=57	Vietnam	87%	2003
=60	Mauritius	86%	2003
=60	Albania	86%	2003
62	Guatemala	85%	2003
63	Azerbaijan	84%	2003
=64	Bosnia and Herzegovina	83%	2003
=64	Lebanon	83%	2003
=64	China	83%	2003
	Former Soviet republics average (profile)	82.67%	2003
=67	Cambodia	82%	2003
=67	Cape Verde	82%	2003
=69	Turkmenistan	81%	2003
=69	Mongolia	81%	2003
	Former Spanish colonies average (profile)	79.35%	2003
=71	Zimbabwe	79%	2003
=71	Democratic Republic of the Congo	79%	2003
73	Cote d'Ivoire	78%	2003
74	Russia	76%	2003
75	Tajikistan	75%	2003
76	Belarus	74%	2003
	South and Central Asia average (profile)	72.67%	2003
77	India	72%	2003
=78	Uzbekistan	71%	2003
=78	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	71%	2003
=80	Indonesia	70%	2003
=80	Mauritania	70%	2003
=80	Comoros	70%	2003
83	Mozambique	69%	2003
=84	Belize	68%	2003
=84	Namibia	68%	2003
86	Guyana	67%	2003
=87	Burkina Faso	66%	2003
=87	Solomon Islands	66%	2003
89	Ghana	64%	2003
	South Asia average (profile)	63.75%	2003
90	South Korea	63%	2003
=91	Cameroon	62%	2003
=91	Nepal	62%	2003
=91	Bhutan	62%	2003
94	Eritrea	58%	2003
=95	Paraguay	56%	2003
=95	Angola	56%	2003
	Former French colonies average (profile)	55.92%	2003
97	Syria	55%	2003
98	Haiti	54%	2003
=99	Bolivia	53%	2003
=99	Equatorial Guinea	53%	2003
101	Benin	52%	2003
102	Brazil	50%	2003
103	Laos	49%	2003
104	Lesotho	48%	2003
105	Algeria	47%	2003
106	Malawi	44%	2003
=107	Central African Republic	43%	2003
=107	Oman	43%	2003
109	Uganda	42%	2003
110	Kyrgyzstan	40%	2003
111	Kenya	38%	2003
112	Madagascar	37%	2003
=113	Bangladesh	34%	2003
=113	Nicaragua	34%	2003
115	Nigeria	33%	2003
=116	Swaziland	30%	2003
=116	Honduras	30%	2003
=118	Burundi	29%	2003
=118	Zambia	29%	2003
=120	Botswana	28%	2003
=120	Yemen	28%	2003
=120	Togo	28%	2003
123	Guinea-Bissau	25%	2003
124	Guinea	23%	2003
125	Chad	21%	2003
126	Mali	20%	2003
127	Vanuatu	17%	2003
128	Djibouti	13%	2003
129	Senegal	8%	2003

Citation

SHARE TWEET EMBED