Share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation was 96.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
96.9%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
80th
of 186 countries
All-time high
96.9%
in 2023
All-time low
75.4%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Sri Lanka, 2000–2024

0204060801002000201220242000: 75.4 %2001: 76.3 %2002: 77.2 %2003: 78.1 %2004: 79.1 %2005: 80 %2006: 80.9 %2007: 81.8 %2008: 82.7 %2009: 83.6 %2010: 84.6 %2011: 85.5 %2012: 86.4 %2013: 87.3 %2014: 88.3 %2015: 89.2 %2016: 90.2 %2017: 91.1 %2018: 92.1 %2019: 93 %2020: 94 %2021: 94.9 %2022: 95.9 %2023: 96.9 %2024: 96.9 %

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

Analysis

Sri Lanka recorded 96.9% for share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 9.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Sri Lanka peaked at 96.9% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 75.4%, in 2000.

That places Sri Lanka 80th out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 79.5% 75.4% 83.6% 10
2010s 88.8% 84.6% 93.0% 10
2020s 95.7% 94.0% 96.9% 5

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 77 Luxembourg 97.5% compare
  2. 78 Kazakhstan 97.1% compare
  3. 81 Anguilla 96.7% compare
  4. 82 Kyrgyzstan 96.6% compare
  5. 83 Jordan 96.6% compare

See the full ranking of 186 places →

More population data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Sri Lanka?
Share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation in Sri Lanka was 96.9% 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 Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 96.9% in 2023.
What is the lowest share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 75.4% in 2000.
How does Sri Lanka rank for share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation?
Sri Lanka ranks 80th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of urban vs. rural population using at least basic sanitation rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is up 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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.