Share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation was 21.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
21.8%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
186th
of 186 countries
All-time high
23.7%
in 2000
All-time low
21.8%
in 2022
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024

05101520252000201220242000: 23.7 %2001: 23.5 %2002: 23.2 %2003: 23 %2004: 22.8 %2005: 22.6 %2006: 22.6 %2007: 22.6 %2008: 22.5 %2009: 22.5 %2010: 22.5 %2011: 22.4 %2012: 22.4 %2013: 22.4 %2014: 22.3 %2015: 22.3 %2016: 22.2 %2017: 22.1 %2018: 22.1 %2019: 22 %2020: 21.9 %2021: 21.9 %2022: 21.8 %2023: 21.8 %2024: 21.8 %

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

Analysis

Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 21.8% for share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 23.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 21.8%, in 2022.

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 186th of 186 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 22.9% 22.5% 23.7% 10
2010s 22.3% 22.0% 22.5% 10
2020s 21.8% 21.8% 21.9% 5

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 183 Ethiopia 24.1% compare
  2. 184 Madagascar 22.2% compare
  3. 185 Eritrea 22.0% compare

See the full ranking of 186 places →

More population data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Democratic Republic of Congo was 21.8% 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 vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 23.7% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 21.8% in 2022.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 186th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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 vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation. 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 urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation
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
186 places, 4,556 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people using improved sanitation facilities, such as toilets or latrines, that are not shared with other households.