Tajikistan: People practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2023, Tajikistan's people practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population) did not change 0 percentage points on 2022 (from 0.55% to 0.55%).

Across the 22 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2022), the average change was −0.02 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 164.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly fall was 0.02 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2014 to 2023 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.02 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 0.47% for 2026. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2021 to 2023 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.00773%, against 0.04% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Tajikistan in the 2023 ranking

• Djibouti — 1st of 4: 64.13%
• Haiti — 2nd of 4: 31.46%
• Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 4th of 4: 0%

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 24 values

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

• Albania — 0% (2024)
• Andorra — 0% (2024)
• Armenia — 0.03% (2024)
• Austria — 0% (2024)
• Azerbaijan — 0.06% (2024)
• Belarus — 0% (2024)
• Belgium — 0% (2024)
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 0% (2018)
• Bulgaria

More health data for Tajikistan

• Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 11.73% (2025)
• Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 12.8% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female — 1.91 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 34.81% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male — 1.96 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 36.96% (2025)
• Population ages 0-14, total — 3.87 million (2025)
• Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 35.87% (2025)
• Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 11.78% (2025)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Tajikistan's people practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population)?

0.55% in 2023, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 0.5 percentage points from 1.05% in 2000. The highest value was 1.05% in 2000 and the lowest 0.55% in 2022.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.STA.ODFC.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, 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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