People using improved sanitation facilities in Australia

Australia: People using improved sanitation facilities was 26.71 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
26.71 million people
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
46th
of 232 countries
All-time high
26.71 million people
in 2024
All-time low
19.13 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People using improved sanitation facilities in Australia, 2000–2024

010.0M20.0M30.0M2000201220242000: 19.1M people2001: 19.4M people2002: 19.6M people2003: 19.8M people2004: 20.0M people2005: 20.3M people2006: 20.6M people2007: 21.0M people2008: 21.4M people2009: 21.8M people2010: 22.1M people2011: 22.5M people2012: 22.9M people2013: 23.2M people2014: 23.6M people2015: 23.9M people2016: 24.3M people2017: 24.7M people2018: 25.1M people2019: 25.5M people2020: 25.7M people2021: 26.0M people2022: 26.2M people2023: 26.5M people2024: 26.7M people

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

Analysis

Australia recorded 26.71 million people for people using improved sanitation facilities in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 13.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people using improved sanitation facilities in Australia peaked at 26.71 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 19.13 million people, in 2000.

Australia ranks 46th of 232 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

People using improved sanitation facilities in Australia, year by year

Annual values for People using improved sanitation facilities in Australia, 2000 to 2024.
Year people Change
2000 19.13 million people
2001 19.36 million people +1.2%
2002 19.59 million people +1.2%
2003 19.82 million people +1.1%
2004 20.05 million people +1.1%
2005 20.29 million people +1.2%
2006 20.59 million people +1.5%
2007 20.95 million people +1.8%
2008 21.37 million people +2.0%
2009 21.78 million people +1.9%
2010 22.14 million people +1.6%
2011 22.48 million people +1.5%
2012 22.85 million people +1.7%
2013 23.24 million people +1.7%
2014 23.59 million people +1.5%
2015 23.95 million people +1.5%
2016 24.33 million people +1.6%
2017 24.73 million people +1.6%
2018 25.12 million people +1.6%
2019 25.48 million people +1.4%
2020 25.74 million people +1.0%
2021 25.96 million people +0.8%
2022 26.20 million people +0.9%
2023 26.45 million people +1.0%
2024 26.71 million people +1.0%

Australia compared with similar countries

  • Australia's 26.71 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.05 million people, 8.8× the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Australia's 26.71 million people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.22 million people, 21.8× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 20.29 million people 19.13 million people 21.78 million people 10
2010s 23.79 million people 22.14 million people 25.48 million people 10
2020s 26.21 million people 25.74 million people 26.71 million people 5

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 43 Nepal 29.05 million people compare
  2. 44 Venezuela 27.95 million people compare
  3. 45 Yemen 27.18 million people compare
  4. 47 Angola 25.26 million people compare
  5. 48 Ghana 25.18 million people compare
  6. 49 Ethiopia 24.92 million people compare

See the full ranking of 232 places →

More population data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people using improved sanitation facilities in Australia?
People using improved sanitation facilities in Australia was 26.71 million people 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 people using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 26.71 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people using improved sanitation facilities recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 19.13 million people in 2000.
How does Australia rank for people using improved sanitation facilities?
Australia ranks 46th out of 232 countries with data for 2024.
Is people using improved sanitation facilities rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is up 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Australia 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 People using improved sanitation facilities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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People using improved sanitation facilities in Australia. Statizoid, drawing on WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/population-using-improved-sanitation-facilities/australia/

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About this data

Indicator
People using improved sanitation facilities
Unit
people
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, 5,597 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people using improved sanitation facilities, regardless of whether they are shared with other households.