Samoa: People using safely managed sanitation services, rural (% of rural population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Samoa's people using safely managed sanitation services, rural (% of rural population) rose 0.13 percentage points on 2023 (from 44.12% to 44.25%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was −0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.24 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.7 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.27 percentage points in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.71 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 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 5% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

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

How it compares

In 2024, Samoa had the 55th highest value of the 96 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Samoa in the 2024 ranking

• Dominican Republic — 52nd of 96: 47.05%
• Guyana — 53rd of 96: 46.93%
• Tuvalu — 54th of 96: 44.44%
• Bangladesh — 56th of 96: 41.93%
• Pakistan — 57th of 96: 41.26%
• Montenegro — 58th of 96: 40.74%

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 25 values

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

• Cambodia — 51.17% (2024)
• China — 38.08% (2024)
• Fiji — 57.16% (2024)
• Kiribati — 23.7% (2024)
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 1.23% (2023)
• Lao PDR — 72.73% (2024)
• Mongolia — 52.3% (2024)
• Myanmar — 64.31% (2024)

More health data for Samoa

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 11.91% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 12.59% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 40,419 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 37.14% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 43,051 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 38.97% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 83,470 (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 38.06% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 12.82% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, male (% of male population)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

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

44.25% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 1.02 percentage points from 45.27% in 2000. The highest value was 45.79% in 2007 and the lowest 43.73% in 2021.

How does Samoa rank?

55th highest of 96 economies with data for 2024.

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

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.SMSS.RU.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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