Share of people practicing open defecation in Vanuatu
Vanuatu: Share of people practicing open defecation was 5.0% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of people practicing open defecation in Vanuatu, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Vanuatu recorded 5.0% for share of people practicing open defecation in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.6% on the previous year and up 81.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of people practicing open defecation in Vanuatu peaked at 5.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2004.
Vanuatu ranks 50th of 232 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of people practicing open defecation in Vanuatu, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.5% | — |
| 2001 | 0.5% | -0.4% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 0.5% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 0.5% | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 0.7% | +38.2% |
| 2006 | 0.9% | +27.4% |
| 2007 | 1.2% | +23.7% |
| 2008 | 1.4% | +19.3% |
| 2009 | 1.6% | +16.1% |
| 2010 | 1.8% | +13.9% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | +12.3% |
| 2012 | 2.3% | +10.9% |
| 2013 | 2.5% | +9.8% |
| 2014 | 2.7% | +8.9% |
| 2015 | 3.0% | +8.2% |
| 2016 | 3.2% | +7.6% |
| 2017 | 3.4% | +7.0% |
| 2018 | 3.6% | +6.5% |
| 2019 | 3.9% | +6.1% |
| 2020 | 4.1% | +5.7% |
| 2021 | 4.3% | +5.4% |
| 2022 | 4.5% | +5.1% |
| 2023 | 4.7% | +4.9% |
| 2024 | 5.0% | +4.6% |
Vanuatu compared with similar countries
- Vanuatu's 5.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.7%, 74% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Vanuatu's 5.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.2%, 31.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of people practicing open defecation in Vanuatu changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +38.2% | 0.5% | 0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.9% | 0.5% | 1.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.9% | 1.8% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.5% | 4.1% | 5.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Vanuatu
More population data for Vanuatu
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.6576 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.5164 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.7815 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.5164 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development 0.5% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 59,723 people (2100)
- Population density 71.82 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth 0.5% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.2172 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 2.2 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of people practicing open defecation in Vanuatu?
- Share of people practicing open defecation in Vanuatu was 5.0% 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 Vanuatu?
- The highest recorded value was 5.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of people practicing open defecation recorded in Vanuatu?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2004.
- How does Vanuatu rank for share of people practicing open defecation?
- Vanuatu ranks 50th out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of people practicing open defecation rising or falling in Vanuatu?
- Over the last ten years it is up 81.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Vanuatu 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.