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World Bank · Health

South Africa: People practicing open defecation

0.28percent · 2024-92.7% since 2014

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. Annual figures for South Africa from 2000 to 2024.

20002024

Every year

YearValue (percent)Note
20240.277
20230.337
20220.397
20210.74
20201.148
20191.566
20181.993
20172.431
20162.878
20153.335
20143.803
20134.28
20124.768
20115.267
20105.776
20096.295
20086.825
20077.366
20067.918
20058.48
20049.053
20039.638
200210.233
200110.835
200011.437

Source

Published by World Bank, produced by World Health Organization, UNICEF. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-11-07.

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Cite or download

World Bank (2026). People practicing open defecation. Interva. https://interva.co/dataset/worldbank-people-practicing-open-defecation (accessed 2026-11-08). catalog snapshot 2026-11-07.

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South Africa: People practicing open defecation (2000–2024) · Interva