Guam: People practicing open defecation (% of population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2016, Guam's people practicing open defecation (% of population) did not change 0 percentage points on 2015 (from 0.73% to 0.73%).

Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2015), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 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 0.06 percentage points in 2010. 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 upward, about 0.04 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 Guam in the 2016 ranking

• Eritrea — 1st of 6: 67%
• Syrian Arab Republic — 3rd of 6: 0.68%
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 4th of 6: 0.4%
• Malaysia — 5th of 6: 0.35%

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 17 values

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

• Australia — 0% (2024)
• Brunei Darussalam — 0% (2024)
• Cambodia — 5.24% (2024)
• China — 0% (2024)
• Fiji — 0% (2024)
• French Polynesia — 0% (2024)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 0% (2024)
• Indonesia — 2.29% (2024)
• Japan — 0% (2024)
• Kiribati

More health data for Guam

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 8.39% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 8.74% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 21,146 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 25.34% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 22,570 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 26.39% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 43,716 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 25.87% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 8.65% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

0.73% in 2016, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 0.73 percentage points from 0% in 2000. The highest value was 0.73% in 2012 and the lowest 0% in 2000.

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

In 2016, Guam's people practicing open defecation (% of population) did not change 0 percentage points on 2015 (from 0.73% to 0.73%). Across the 15 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2015), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.03 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.9 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.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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