Share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services was 10.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services in Sierra Leone, 2000–2024
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 urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services in Sierra Leone is 10.8%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.7% on the previous year and up 70.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services in Sierra Leone peaked at 10.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 2.3%, in 2000.
Sierra Leone ranks 93rd of 100 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.3% | — |
| 2001 | 2.4% | +5.3% |
| 2002 | 2.5% | +5.0% |
| 2003 | 2.6% | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 2.9% | +10.3% |
| 2005 | 3.2% | +9.8% |
| 2006 | 3.5% | +9.3% |
| 2007 | 3.8% | +8.9% |
| 2008 | 4.1% | +8.5% |
| 2009 | 4.5% | +8.1% |
| 2010 | 4.8% | +7.8% |
| 2011 | 5.2% | +7.5% |
| 2012 | 5.5% | +7.2% |
| 2013 | 5.9% | +7.0% |
| 2014 | 6.3% | +6.7% |
| 2015 | 6.7% | +6.5% |
| 2016 | 7.1% | +6.3% |
| 2017 | 7.6% | +5.8% |
| 2018 | 8.0% | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 8.4% | +5.5% |
| 2020 | 8.9% | +5.4% |
| 2021 | 9.3% | +5.2% |
| 2022 | 9.8% | +5.1% |
| 2023 | 10.3% | +4.9% |
| 2024 | 10.8% | +4.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.2% | 2.3% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.6% | 4.8% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.8% | 8.9% | 10.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 90 Papua New Guinea 14.4% compare
- 91 Togo 11.4% compare
- 92 Democratic Republic of Congo 11.2% compare
- 94 Benin 10.7% compare
- 95 Madagascar 10.0% compare
- 96 Niger 6.0% compare
More population data for Sierra Leone
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1141 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -1.21 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1141 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.076 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 13,595 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 1.9 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.6516 % change on previous year (2100)
- World population growth -0.1% (2100)
- Population density 220.76 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 983,692 people (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services in Sierra Leone?
- Share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services in Sierra Leone was 10.8% 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 urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 10.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.3% in 2000.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services?
- Sierra Leone ranks 93rd out of 100 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 70.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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 urban and rural population using safely managed sanitation services. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Proportion of people using improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households and where excreta are safely disposed in situ or transported and treated off-site.