Share of people practicing open defecation in Ecuador

Ecuador: Share of people practicing open defecation was 1.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.7%
Change on year
down 14.2%
World rank
73rd
of 232 countries
All-time high
11.2%
in 2000
All-time low
1.7%
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of people practicing open defecation in Ecuador, 2000–2024

246810122000201220242000: 11.2 %2001: 10.7 %2002: 10.3 %2003: 9.9 %2004: 9.4 %2005: 9 %2006: 8.6 %2007: 8.2 %2008: 7.8 %2009: 7.4 %2010: 7 %2011: 6.6 %2012: 6.2 %2013: 5.9 %2014: 5.5 %2015: 5.1 %2016: 4.7 %2017: 4.3 %2018: 4 %2019: 3.6 %2020: 3.2 %2021: 2.8 %2022: 2.5 %2023: 2 %2024: 1.7 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of people practicing open defecation in Ecuador is 1.7%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 14.2% on the previous year and down 68.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of people practicing open defecation in Ecuador peaked at 11.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2024.

That places Ecuador 73rd out of 232 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 9.3% 7.4% 11.2% 10
2010s 5.3% 3.6% 7.0% 10
2020s 2.4% 1.7% 3.2% 5

Countries ranked near Ecuador

  1. 70 Peru 1.9% compare
  2. 71 Tuvalu 1.8% compare
  3. 72 Comoros 1.8% compare
  4. 74 Dominican Republic 1.7% compare
  5. 75 Argentina 1.5% compare
  6. 76 Gabon 1.3% compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More population data for Ecuador

All data for Ecuador →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of people practicing open defecation in Ecuador?
Share of people practicing open defecation in Ecuador was 1.7% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of people practicing open defecation recorded in Ecuador?
The highest recorded value was 11.2% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of people practicing open defecation recorded in Ecuador?
The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2024.
How does Ecuador rank for share of people practicing open defecation?
Ecuador ranks 73rd out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Ecuador?
Over the last ten years it is down 68.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ecuador data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of people practicing open defecation. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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

About this data

Indicator
Share of people practicing open defecation
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
232 places, 5,488 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Share of people who practice open defecation. This includes defecating in fields, forests, bushes, bodies of water or other open spaces, not using any sanitation facilities.