South Sudan's people practicing open defecation (% of population) was 62.8% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 6.17 percentage points from 68.97% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 62.8% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 65.51% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 68.97% | 2014 |
| Highest | 70.86% | 2011 |
| Lowest | 62.8% | 2024 |
| Average since 2015 | 65.24% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 70.86% | 2011 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, South Sudan's people practicing open defecation (% of population) fell 0.21 percentage points on 2023 (from 63.01% to 62.8%).
Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2012 to 2023), the average change was −0.65 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly fall was 0.78 percentage points in 2022. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.65 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 99% 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
In 2024, South Sudan had the 2nd highest value of the 182 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| South Sudan | 62.8% | 2024 |
| World | 4.35% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 15.46% | 2024 |
| Low income | 17.25% | 2024 |
Closest to South Sudan in the 2024 ranking
- Niger — 1st of 182: 65.98%
- Chad — 3rd of 182: 62.22%
- Benin — 4th of 182: 47.04%
- Solomon Islands — 5th of 182: 45.34%
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 14 values
| Year | People practicing open defecation (% of population) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 62.8 |
| 2023 | 63.01 |
| 2022 | 63.22 |
| 2021 | 64 |
| 2020 | 64.77 |
| 2019 | 65.51 |
| 2018 | 66.23 |
| 2017 | 66.94 |
| 2016 | 67.63 |
| 2015 | 68.31 |
| 2014 |
People practicing open defecation (% of population) in nearby economies
- Angola — 25.72% (2022)
- Benin — 47.04% (2024)
- Botswana — 5.43% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 29.87% (2024)
- Burundi — 1.97% (2024)
- Cabo Verde — 3.42% (2024)
- Cameroon — 4.44% (2024)
- Central African Republic — 24.72% (2024)
- Chad — 62.22% (2024)
- Comoros
More health data for South Sudan
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 12.53% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 13.29% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 2.29 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 36.96% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 2.34 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 39.04% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 4.63 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 37.99% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 11.35% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is South Sudan's people practicing open defecation (% of population)?
- 62.8% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2011?
- It is down 8.06 percentage points from 70.86% in 2011. The highest value was 70.86% in 2011 and the lowest 62.8% in 2024.
- How does South Sudan rank?
- 2nd highest of 182 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in people practicing open defecation (% of population) unusual for South Sudan?
- In 2024, South Sudan's people practicing open defecation (% of population) fell 0.21 percentage points on 2023 (from 63.01% to 62.8%). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2012 to 2023), the average change was −0.65 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.15 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 2.9 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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