Indicators

Sanitation is fundamental to human development. Many international organizations use hygienic sanitation facilities as a measure for progress in the fight against poverty, disease, and death. Access to proper sanitation is also considered to be a human right, not a privilege, for every man, woman, and child. Sanitation generally refers to the provision of facilities and services for the safe disposal of human urine and faeces. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease world-wide and improving sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on people's health. Improvements in sanitation can reduce diarrheal disease, and can significantly lessen the adverse health impacts of other disorders responsible for death and disease among millions of children. Diarrhoea and worm infections weaken children and make them more susceptible to malnutrition and opportunistic infections like pneumonia, measles and malaria.

The percentage of population 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 toilets connected to piped sewer systems, septic tanks or pit latrines; pit latrines with slabs (including ventilated pit latrines), and composting toilets.

Location (urban/rural), Socioeconomic status (wealth quintiles)

Data on improved sanitation facilities are routinely collected in household surveys and censuses. These data sources may also collect information on sharing of sanitation facilities are shared among two or more households, and on emptying of on-site sanitation facilities. Household-level responses, weighted by household size, are used to compute population coverage.

Outcome

The JMP assembles, reviews and assesses national data collected by statistics offices and other relevant institutions including sectoral authorities. Linear regression is used to provide estimates of the population using improved sanitation facilities, as well as the proportion practising open defecation. Regressions are also made to estimate the population using improved sanitation facilities connected to sewers and septic tanks; these are constrained to not exceed the estimates for total improved facilities. The proportion of the population sharing sewered and non-sewered sanitation facilities is estimated by taking an average of all available data on sharing from household surveys and censuses. Basic sanitation services are calculated by multiplying the proportion of the population using improved sanitation facilities by the proportion of improved sanitation facilities which are not shared among two or more households. Separate estimates are made for urban and rural areas, and national estimates are generated as weighted averages of the two, using population data from the most recent report of the United Nations Population Division. The most recent household survey or census available for most countries was typically conducted two to six years ago. The JMP extrapolates regressions for two years beyond the last available data point. Beyond this point the estimates remain unchanged for up to four years unless coverage is below 0.5 per cent or above 99.5 per cent, in which case the line is extended indefinitely. For more information see https://washdata.org/monitoring/methods/estimation-methods Predominant type of statistics: adjusted and predicted

Regional and global estimates are weighted averages of the country data, using the population for the reference year as the weight. No estimates are reported if less than 50 per cent of the population in the region or world are covered.

N/A

Biennial (Two years)