Share of people practicing open defecation in Mongolia

Mongolia: Share of people practicing open defecation was 4.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
4.3%
Change on year
down 9.6%
World rank
54th
of 232 countries
All-time high
19.8%
in 2000
All-time low
4.3%
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

51015202000201220242000: 19.8 %2001: 18.8 %2002: 17.8 %2003: 16.8 %2004: 15.9 %2005: 15 %2006: 14.1 %2007: 13.3 %2008: 12.4 %2009: 11.6 %2010: 10.9 %2011: 10.3 %2012: 9.8 %2013: 9.4 %2014: 8.9 %2015: 8.4 %2016: 8 %2017: 7.5 %2018: 7.1 %2019: 6.6 %2020: 6.1 %2021: 5.7 %2022: 5.2 %2023: 4.8 %2024: 4.3 %

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 Mongolia is 4.3%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 9.6% on the previous year and down 51.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of people practicing open defecation in Mongolia peaked at 19.8% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2024.

Mongolia ranks 54th of 232 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 15.6% 11.6% 19.8% 10
2010s 8.7% 6.6% 10.9% 10
2020s 5.2% 4.3% 6.1% 5

Countries ranked near Mongolia

  1. 51 Yemen 4.9% compare
  2. 52 Guinea 4.7% compare
  3. 53 Cameroon 4.4% compare
  4. 55 Mali 3.9% compare
  5. 56 Grenada 3.5% compare
  6. 57 Uganda 3.5% compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More population data for Mongolia

All data for Mongolia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of people practicing open defecation in Mongolia?
Share of people practicing open defecation in Mongolia was 4.3% 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 Mongolia?
The highest recorded value was 19.8% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of people practicing open defecation recorded in Mongolia?
The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2024.
How does Mongolia rank for share of people practicing open defecation?
Mongolia ranks 54th out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Mongolia?
Over the last ten years it is down 51.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Mongolia 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.