Share of people practicing open defecation in Mauritius
Mauritius: Share of people practicing open defecation was 0.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of people practicing open defecation in Mauritius, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of people practicing open defecation in Mauritius stood at 0.3%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.1% on the previous year and up 43.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of people practicing open defecation in Mauritius peaked at 0.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2000.
Mauritius ranks 101st of 232 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of people practicing open defecation in Mauritius, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.1% | — |
| 2001 | 0.1% | +11.5% |
| 2002 | 0.1% | +10.3% |
| 2003 | 0.1% | +9.3% |
| 2004 | 0.1% | +8.6% |
| 2005 | 0.1% | +7.9% |
| 2006 | 0.1% | +7.3% |
| 2007 | 0.1% | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 0.1% | +6.4% |
| 2009 | 0.1% | +6.0% |
| 2010 | 0.1% | +5.7% |
| 2011 | 0.2% | +5.4% |
| 2012 | 0.2% | +5.1% |
| 2013 | 0.2% | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 0.2% | +4.6% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | +4.4% |
| 2016 | 0.2% | +4.2% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | +3.9% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | +3.7% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | +3.5% |
| 2022 | 0.2% | +3.3% |
| 2023 | 0.2% | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 0.3% | +3.1% |
Mauritius compared with similar countries
- Mauritius's 0.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.3%, 95% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Mauritius's 0.3% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.1%, 2% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Mauritius
More population data for Mauritius
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.7958 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -1.42 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -1.43 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -1.42 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -1.4% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 18,891 people (2100)
- Population density 291.3 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -1.4% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -1.15 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population -0.011 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of people practicing open defecation in Mauritius?
- Share of people practicing open defecation in Mauritius was 0.3% 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 Mauritius?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of people practicing open defecation recorded in Mauritius?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2000.
- How does Mauritius rank for share of people practicing open defecation?
- Mauritius ranks 101st out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Mauritius?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mauritius 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
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.