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People practicing open defecation in Malawi

Malawi: People practicing open defecation was 1.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.9%
Change on year
down 20.8%
World rank
68th
of 214 countries
All-time high
14.6%
in 2000
All-time low
1.9%
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People practicing open defecation in Malawi, 2000–2024

0510152000201220242000: 14.6 % of population2001: 14.1 % of population2002: 13.5 % of population2003: 13 % of population2004: 12.5 % of population2005: 11.9 % of population2006: 11.4 % of population2007: 10.9 % of population2008: 10.3 % of population2009: 9.8 % of population2010: 9.3 % of population2011: 8.7 % of population2012: 8.2 % of population2013: 7.7 % of population2014: 7.1 % of population2015: 6.6 % of population2016: 6.1 % of population2017: 5.6 % of population2018: 5 % of population2019: 4.5 % of population2020: 4 % of population2021: 3.5 % of population2022: 3 % of population2023: 2.5 % of population2024: 1.9 % of population

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of population.

Analysis

The most recent figure for people practicing open defecation in Malawi is 1.9%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is down 20.8% on the previous year and down 72.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people practicing open defecation in Malawi peaked at 14.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 2024.

Malawi ranks 68th of 214 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 12.2% 9.8% 14.6% 10
2010s 6.9% 4.5% 9.3% 10
2020s 3.0% 1.9% 4.0% 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 65 Colombia 2.1% compare
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  3. 67 Burundi 2.0% compare
  4. 69 Peru 1.9% compare
  5. 70 Tuvalu 1.8% compare
  6. 71 Comoros 1.8% compare

See the full ranking of 261 places →

More health data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is people practicing open defecation in Malawi?
People practicing open defecation in Malawi was 1.9% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO).
What is the highest people practicing open defecation recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 14.6% in 2000.
What is the lowest people practicing open defecation recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 2024.
How does Malawi rank for people practicing open defecation?
Malawi ranks 68th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
Is people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 72.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of People practicing open defecation (% of population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

About this data

Indicator
People practicing open defecation (% of population)
Unit
% of population
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
261 places, 6,240 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

People practicing open defecation refers to the percentage of the population defecating in the open, such as in fields, forest, bushes, open bodies of water, on beaches, in other open spaces or disposed of with solid waste.