Countries by People using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population)

Twelve countries, including Singapore, Israel, New Zealand, and Kuwait, achieve 100% urban basic sanitation coverage, meaning every urban resident uses an improved sanitation facility not shared with other households. At the other end, Congo, Dem. Rep. ranks 182nd at just 21.8%, leaving the majority of its urban population without even basic sanitation access. The 78-percentage-point gap between the top and bottom of this ranking reflects the scale of disparity in urban sanitation access worldwide.

Population & Health category

Ranking 2024

Values shown in %.

Countries by People using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population)
Rank	Country	%
1	Andorra	100.00
1	Armenia	100.00
1	Chile	100.00
1	Gibraltar	100.00
1	Israel	100.00
1	Kuwait	100.00
1	Macao	100.00
1	Malta	100.00
1	Monaco	100.00
1	New Zealand	100.00
1	Singapore	100.00
1	Saint Martin (French part)	100.00
13	Belarus	99.98
14	Austria	99.95
15	Egypt	99.95
16	Bermuda	99.94
17	Spain	99.90
17	Switzerland	99.90
19	Italy	99.88
20	Türkiye	99.86
21	United States	99.86
22	North Macedonia	99.84
23	Cyprus	99.75
24	Maldives	99.75
25	Serbia	99.75
26	Thailand	99.72
27	Azerbaijan	99.66
28	Montenegro	99.63
29	Denmark	99.60
30	Portugal	99.60
31	Palestine	99.58
32	Turkmenistan	99.57
33	Belgium	99.49
34	Finland	99.45
35	Oman	99.32
36	Albania	99.31
37	Germany	99.29
38	Russia	99.27
39	Greece	99.21
40	Palau	99.15
41	Uruguay	99.13
42	United Kingdom	99.04
43	United Arab Emirates	98.97
44	Czechia	98.97
45	Estonia	98.94
46	Costa Rica	98.92
47	Bosnia and Herzegovina	98.87
48	Iraq	98.84
49	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	98.78
50	Poland	98.77
51	Sweden	98.72
52	Iceland	98.70
53	Slovakia	98.69
54	France	98.59
55	Colombia	98.57
56	Laos	98.57
57	Canada	98.55
58	Argentina	98.47
59	Vietnam	98.41
60	Antigua and Barbuda	98.38
61	China	98.36
62	Romania	98.31
63	Tunisia	98.19
64	Mauritius	98.15
65	Norway	98.00
66	Ukraine	97.99
67	Saudi Arabia	97.95
68	Lithuania	97.90
69	Hungary	97.76
70	Georgia	97.68
71	Croatia	97.57
72	Samoa	97.53
73	Netherlands	97.50
74	Luxembourg	97.50
75	Kazakhstan	97.12
76	Panama	96.93
77	Sri Lanka	96.86
78	Kyrgyzstan	96.65
79	Jordan	96.56
80	Tonga	96.47
81	Syria	96.46
82	Morocco	96.36
83	Malaysia	96.06
84	Latvia	95.98
85	Brazil	95.86
86	Paraguay	95.75
87	Uzbekistan	95.30
88	Trinidad and Tobago	95.12
89	Cuba	95.01
90	Hong Kong	94.83
91	Ecuador	93.97
92	Suriname	93.84
93	Mexico	93.82
94	Tajikistan	93.45
95	Belize	93.32
96	Turks and Caicos Islands	93.24
97	Guyana	93.22
98	Cambodia	93.12
99	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	93.04
100	Iran	92.80
101	Fiji	92.76
102	Dominican Republic	91.71
103	North Korea	91.67
104	El Salvador	91.49
105	Moldova	90.93
106	Honduras	90.92
107	Indonesia	90.08
108	Jamaica	89.98
109	Tuvalu	88.92
110	Algeria	87.90
111	Ireland	87.81
112	India	87.38
113	Philippines	86.81
114	Bulgaria	86.78
115	Yemen	86.20
116	Cabo Verde	86.14
117	Bhutan	83.90
118	Mongolia	83.76
119	Peru	83.45
120	Cayman Islands	83.24
121	Pakistan	82.98
122	Nepal	82.74
123	Marshall Islands	81.96
124	Mauritania	81.45
125	Sudan	81.12
126	Guatemala	80.95
127	Timor-Leste	80.12
128	Saint Lucia	79.44
129	Myanmar	79.34
130	Djibouti	79.34
131	Bolivia	78.87
132	Botswana	77.28
133	South Africa	76.56
134	Solomon Islands	74.83
135	Afghanistan	72.96
136	Nauru	71.32
137	Senegal	70.99
138	Equatorial Guinea	69.90
139	Bangladesh	67.62
140	Mozambique	63.41
141	Angola	62.84
142	Cameroon	61.93
143	Gambia	61.11
144	Gabon	60.52
145	Nigeria	59.12
146	Mali	57.96
147	Comoros	57.51
148	Rwanda	56.44
149	Tanzania	55.79
150	Côte d'Ivoire	54.32
151	Somalia	54.03
152	Niger	53.06
153	Sao Tome and Principe	51.30
154	Vanuatu	50.76
155	Namibia	50.19
156	Kiribati	49.31
157	Papua New Guinea	48.54
158	Burkina Faso	48.45
159	Guinea	48.42
160	Malawi	48.04
161	Eswatini	47.55
162	Lesotho	45.04
163	Zambia	43.30
164	Guinea-Bissau	42.83
165	Burundi	42.01
166	Zimbabwe	40.43
167	Kenya	39.70
168	Chad	39.46
169	Togo	38.41
170	South Sudan	37.66
171	Ghana	37.04
172	Sierra Leone	36.73
173	Liberia	34.61
174	Uganda	32.55
175	Haiti	32.41
176	Benin	32.39
177	Republic of Congo	27.20
178	Central African Republic	24.55
179	Ethiopia	24.06
180	Madagascar	22.22
181	Eritrea	21.99
182	DR Congo	21.80

Analysis

This metric measures the percentage of urban residents using at least basic sanitation services. According to the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code SH.STA.BASS.UR.ZS), basic sanitation is defined as improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households. Improved facilities include flush or pour-flush to piped sewer systems, septic tanks, or pit latrines; ventilated improved pit latrines; and similar infrastructure. The indicator encompasses both people using basic sanitation services and those using safely managed sanitation services. Values are expressed as a percentage of the urban population, where higher values indicate broader coverage. This edition covers 182 countries, with 178 of 182 (97.8%) having data from the last seven years and 100% of data points classified as official-quality. No extreme statistical outliers were identified across the full dataset.

At the top of the ranking, 12 countries share a score of 100%, including Andorra, Armenia, Chile, Gibraltar, Israel, Kuwait, Macao SAR China, Malta, Monaco, New Zealand, Singapore, and St. Martin (French part). These are followed closely by Belarus at rank 13 (99.98%), Austria at rank 14 (99.95%), and Egypt at rank 15 (99.95%). European nations dominate the upper tier, with Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and others all scoring above 99%. Thailand (rank 26, 99.72%), Azerbaijan (rank 27, 99.66%), and Turkmenistan (rank 32, 99.57%) are among the non-European nations with near-complete urban coverage. High scores across this group reflect consistently high proportions of urban residents with access to non-shared, improved sanitation facilities.

The middle of the ranking shows meaningful variation. Colombia ranks 55th at 98.57%, while Indonesia ranks 107th at 90.08% and India ranks 112th at 87.38%. Notable anomalies appear in this range: Ireland ranks 111th at only 87.81%, placing it far below comparable European nations such as Germany (rank 37, 99.29%) and France (rank 54, 98.59%). Bulgaria ranks 114th at 86.78%, the lowest among EU member states included in the dataset. At the lower end, sub-Saharan African nations cluster heavily below 60%: Nigeria ranks 145th at 59.12%, Tanzania ranks 149th at 55.79%, and Kenya ranks 167th at 39.70%. The bottom ten countries all fall below 40%, with Congo, Dem. Rep. (21.80%), Eritrea (21.99%), Madagascar (22.22%), and Ethiopia (24.06%) reporting the lowest urban sanitation coverage in the dataset.

Several limitations apply to this metric. The indicator measures access to basic or better sanitation but does not distinguish between basic and safely managed levels within its scope, which can mask important differences in sanitation quality. Coverage is limited to urban populations; rural access, which is typically lower, is tracked separately and not reflected here. Data for some countries may rely on survey-based estimates rather than administrative records, introducing uncertainty. Additionally, the data year listed is 2024, but 4 of 182 countries have data older than seven years, meaning some values may not reflect recent changes. The indicator also does not capture whether facilities are functional, maintained, or consistently used, only whether access exists on paper.

Methodology

Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SH.STA.BASS.UR.ZS, with a reference year of 2024. The metric is defined as the percentage of people using at least basic sanitation services, that is, improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households. This indicator encompasses both people using basic sanitation services as well as those using safely managed sanitation services. Improved sanitation facilities include flush/pour flush to piped sewer systems, septic tanks or pit latrines; ventilated improved pit latrines; and related infrastructure. The ranking covers 182 countries. Of these, 178 (97.8%) have data from within the last seven years, and 100% of data points carry official-quality classification. No extreme outliers were detected using a 3-standard-deviation threshold. The average year-over-year change across the dataset is 0.7%, indicating low volatility. Values range from 21.80% (Congo, Dem. Rep.) to 100% (12 countries), a spread of 358.8%. Higher values indicate greater urban sanitation coverage.

Sources

World Bank