Belize: People practicing open defecation (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Belize's people practicing open defecation (% of population) rose 0 percentage points on 2021 (from 0.57% to 0.57%).

Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2021), the average change was −0.19 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.08 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0 percentage points in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.22 percentage points in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.12 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 84% 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.

Closest to Belize in the 2022 ranking

• Angola — 1st of 3: 25.72%
• St. Lucia — 2nd of 3: 6.19%

What this measures

People practicing open defecation refers to the percentage of the population defecating in the open, such as in fields, forest, bushes, open bodies of water, on beaches, in other open spaces or disposed of with solid waste.

Limitations: National, regional and income group estimates are made when data are available for at least 50 percent of the population.

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

All 23 values

People practicing open defecation (% of population) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 0.14% (2024)
• Aruba — 0.86% (2024)
• Bahamas, The — 0.13% (2019)
• Barbados — 0% (2024)
• Bolivia — 7.09% (2024)
• Brazil — 0% (2024)
• British Virgin Islands — 0% (2016)
• Cayman Islands — 0% (2024)
• Chile — 0% (2024)
• Colombia

More health data for Belize

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 8.31% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 8.57% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 54,218 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 25.87% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 56,884 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 26.66% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 111,102 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 26.27% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 8.95% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Belize's people practicing open defecation (% of population)?

0.57% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 3.9 percentage points from 4.47% in 2000. The highest value was 4.47% in 2000 and the lowest 0.57% in 2018.

Is the latest change in people practicing open defecation (% of population) unusual for Belize?

In 2022, Belize's people practicing open defecation (% of population) rose 0 percentage points on 2021 (from 0.57% to 0.57%). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2021), the average change was −0.19 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.08 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.ODFC.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, publisher: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org), date accessed: 2025-09-30, date published: 2025-08… 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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