South Africa vs United Kingdom: Population using improved sanitation facilities

South Africa
59.02 million
in 2024
United Kingdom
69.02 million
in 2024
South Africa rank
22nd
United Kingdom rank
19th

Population using improved sanitation facilities over time

  • South Africa
  • United Kingdom
020.0M40.0M60.0M200020122024

How they compare

United Kingdom currently reports 69.02 million against 59.02 million in South Africa, a difference of 10.00 million.

That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.2 times South Africa's.

Across all 25 years both countries report, United Kingdom has been ahead every year.

South Africa ranks 22nd and United Kingdom ranks 19th of 225 countries.

United Kingdom has averaged higher in every one of the 3 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade South Africa United Kingdom Difference Ahead
2000s 38.83 million 60.45 million 21.62 million United Kingdom
2010s 48.19 million 65.01 million 16.82 million United Kingdom
2020s 56.73 million 68.09 million 11.36 million United Kingdom

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher population using improved sanitation facilities, South Africa or United Kingdom?
United Kingdom, at 69.02 million against 59.02 million in South Africa as of 2024.
What is the difference in population using improved sanitation facilities between South Africa and United Kingdom?
10.00 million, with United Kingdom ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and United Kingdom?
25 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2024.
How do South Africa and United Kingdom rank globally for population using improved sanitation facilities?
South Africa ranks 22nd and United Kingdom ranks 19th of 225 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Our World in Data, published as Population using improved sanitation facilities. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

South Africa vs United Kingdom: Population using improved sanitation facilities. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 18 August 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/population-using-improved-sanitation-facilities/south-africa/united-kingdom/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/compare/population-using-improved-sanitation-facilities/south-africa/united-kingdom/">South Africa vs United Kingdom: Population using improved sanitation facilities</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Population using improved sanitation facilities
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
232 places, 5,597 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed