Argentina: People using safely managed sanitation services (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, Argentina's people using safely managed sanitation services (% of population) fell 0.22 percentage points on 2015 (from 48.76% to 48.54%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2015), the average change was +0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.17 percentage points in 2009 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.22 percentage points in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2007 to 2016 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.1 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 67% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

The percentage of people using improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households and where excreta are safely disposed of in situ or transported and treated offsite. Improved sanitation facilities include flush/pour flush to piped sewer systems, septic tanks or pit latrines: ventilated improved pit latrines, composting toilets or pit latrines with slabs.

Limitations: There are three main ways to meet the criteria for having a safely managed sanitation service (People should use improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other households, and the excreta produced should either be: treated and disposed of in situ; stored temporarily and then emptied, transported and treated off-site, or transported through a sewer with wastewater and then treated off-site). Many countries lack information on either wastewater treatment or the management of on-site sanitation. A national estimate is produced if information is available for the dominant type of sanitation system. If no information is available, it is assumed that 50 percent is safely managed.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 17 values

People using safely managed sanitation services (% of population) in nearby economies

• Brazil — 54.96% (2024)
• Chile — 95.13% (2024)
• Colombia — 18.69% (2024)
• Costa Rica — 26.29% (2024)
• Cuba — 45.88% (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 42.97% (2024)
• Ecuador — 49.29% (2024)
• El Salvador — 35.97% (2024)
• Guyana

More health data for Argentina

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 5.35% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 5.7% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 4.69 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 20.32% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 4.94 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 21.72% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 9.64 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 21.02% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 7.12% (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Argentina's people using safely managed sanitation services (% of population)?

48.54% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 0.41 percentage points from 48.13% in 2000. The highest value was 49.7% in 2010 and the lowest 48.13% in 2000.

Is the latest change in people using safely managed sanitation services (% of population) unusual for Argentina?

In 2016, Argentina's people using safely managed sanitation services (% of population) fell 0.22 percentage points on 2015 (from 48.76% to 48.54%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2015), the average change was +0.04 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.17 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.SMSS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO), uri: washdata.org, note: Aggregate data by groups are computed based on the groupings for the World Bank fiscal year in which the data was released by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitorin… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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