People practicing open defecation (% of population) in India was reported at 11.1 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - People practicing open defecation (% of population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

In financial year 2024, *** percent of districts in India achieved their Open Defecation Free (ODF) target. The sanitation coverage in the country grew exponentially from the fiscal year 2016. This was an important step towards controlling numerous diseases that occur due to a lack of proper hygiene and sanitation.

India People Practicing Open Defecation: Rural: % of Rural Population data was reported at 17.006 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 20.380 % for 2021. India People Practicing Open Defecation: Rural: % of Rural Population data is updated yearly, averaging 54.448 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2022, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 91.486 % in 2000 and a record low of 17.006 % in 2022. India People Practicing Open Defecation: Rural: % of Rural Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Access to Services. 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.;WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org).;Weighted average;This is a disaggregated indicator for Sustainable Development Goal 6.2.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

This statisticcompares the results of a survey conducted in four states in India in 2014 and 2018 about the share of toilet-owning households who defecate in the open. In Madhya Pradesh open defecation went down with ** percent defecating in the open despite owning a toilet in 2014 to only ** percent in 2018. On the contrary, in Rajasthan, open defecation among toilet owners increased from ** percent to ** percent between 2014 and 2018 respectively.

People practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population) in India was reported at 17.01 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - People practicing open defecation, rural (% of rural population) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

People practicing open defecation, urban (% of urban population) in India was reported at 0.55469 % in 2022, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - People practicing open defecation, urban - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

India People Practicing Open Defecation: Urban: % of Urban Population data was reported at 0.988 % in 2020. This records a decrease from the previous number of 2.274 % for 2019. India People Practicing Open Defecation: Urban: % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 13.848 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2020, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.708 % in 2000 and a record low of 0.988 % in 2020. India People Practicing Open Defecation: Urban: % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Access to Services. 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.;WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org).;Weighted average;This is a disaggregated indicator for Sustainable Development Goal 6.2.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

India People Practicing Open Defecation: % of Population data was reported at 11.104 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 13.770 % for 2021. India People Practicing Open Defecation: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 41.548 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2022, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 73.325 % in 2000 and a record low of 11.104 % in 2022. India People Practicing Open Defecation: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s India – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Access to Services. 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.;WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org).;Weighted average;This is the Sustainable Development Goal indicator 6.2.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].

In 2018, the state of Odisha had 45.1 percent of households with no access to toilets, while 45 percent had exclusive access to toilets within their homes. These results come from the 76th NSO survey conducted between July and December 2018, which found over 50 percent of rural households in the state with no access to any kind of toilets.

One of the goals of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a clean India campaign launched by the Modi government, aimed to eliminate open defecation in the country by building toilets. Since 2014, 80 million toilets were built, making 419 districts in the country free from open defecation.

This statistic shows the comparison of percentage of households with toilets as per government (SBM) and non-government (RICE) data as of 2018. It can be seen that as per government data, the state of Bihar has achieved 92 percent sanitation coverage of rural households. Whereas the non-government data found that there was only 50 percent sanitation coverage in Bihar by 2018.

About 82.3 percent of households in India's capital territory of Delhi had exclusive access to toilets in 2018. On the other hand, only 0.5 percent did not have access to toilets. These results come from the 76th NSO survey conducted between July and December 2018, which found over 20 percent of households across the country with no access to any kind of toilets.

One of the goals of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a clean India campaign launched by the Modi government, aimed to eliminate open defecation in the country by building toilets. Since 2014, 80 million toilets were built, making 419 districts in the country free from open defecation.

Baseline summary statistics on the sanitation profile of the households and respondents.

The state of Tamil Nadu in 2018 had about 67.6 percent of households with exclusive access to toilets. These results come from the 76th NSO survey conducted between July and December 2018, which found over 20 percent of households across the country with no access to any kind of toilets.

One of the goals of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a clean India campaign launched by the Modi government, aimed to eliminate open defecation in the country by building toilets. Since 2014, 80 million toilets were built, making 419 districts in the country free from open defecation.

Multivariable analysis of factors associated with perceived risk of social sanction for open defecation, Tamil Nadu, India, 2020.

Abstract

In India, WSP's Global Scaling Up Rural Sanitation Program is supporting the Government of India's Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in two states: Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. TSC is an ambitious countrywide, scaled-up rural sanitation program launched in 1999, which seeks to attain an Open-Defecation Free (ODF) India by 2012. In contrast to earlier, hardware-centric supply approaches to rural sanitation, TSC aims to generate demand for and adoption of improved sanitation at the community level.

This impact evaluation aimed at better understanding what health and welfare impacts can be expected from rural sanitation improvements. Researchers hypothesized that promotion of rural sanitation through community-led total sanitation (CLTS) and social marketing campaigns will improve the health of the population especially children under five years old, a population that is vulnerable to unsafe disposal of feces in the environment and fecal-oral contamination.

This impact evaluation consisted of baseline and endline surveys. In collaboration with the government of Madhya Pradesh, two districts - Dhar and Khargone - were selected. In each district, 80 Gram Panchayats were chosen and randomized into two groups: 1) treatment group (to participate in Total Sanitation Campaign immediately following the baseline survey) and 2) control group (to receive TSC after follow-up data collection).

The baseline survey collected information from a representative sample of the population targeted by the intervention. This baseline survey was administered to approximately 2,000 households between June and July 2009. The survey provided information on the characteristics of household members, access to sanitation facilities, self-reported open defecation, prevalence of child diseases such as diarrhea and respiratory infection, and child growth and development.

The endline survey was carried out in February-March 2011. It followed the same households sampled in baseline, as well as additional children to increase statistical power.

Geographic coverage

The surveys covered Dhar and Khargone districts in Madhya Pradesh state.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Person
• Caregiver
• Child (under 5 and under 2)

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The selection of the sample in Madhya Pradesh was completed in several stages. First, at the design stage of the project, MP was selected a priori as one of two states to participate in the IE. Second, two districts in MP - Dhar and Khargone were selected by WSP in collaboration with the state government. Third, within each of these districts, a total of 80 Gram Panchayats (GP) were selected as candidates for Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) implementation. In the fourth stage, one village from each candidate GP was identified by the GP as a community that is suitable for implementing TSC yielding a list of 80 villages in each of the four districts. Within each district, 40 of the candidate GPs (and their appointed village) were randomly assigned to the treatment group, and the remaining 40 were assigned to the control group.

Approximately, 1,000 households were sampled in each district to achieve a total sample size of 2,000 households. The final selection of households to participate in the IE survey was carried out by the survey firm contracted to conduct the IE baseline data collection. A household listing of all participating villages was conducted and from this list, 25 households with children under two years old were randomly selected for participation. When 25 eligible households were not available in the listed village, a neighboring village was listed and sampled to achieve the desired number of households in the GP.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Household Questionnaire: The household questionnaire collected information about household membership and demographics, income, assets, dwelling characteristics, access to water and sanitation, sanitation- and hygiene-related behaviors, maternal depression, mortality, exposure to health interventions, and other outcomes. Enumerators also conducted standardized observations of dwellings and child cleanliness and of sanitation and handwashing facilities at the time of the HH interviews.

Health Questionnaire: The health questionnaire collected information about children’s diarrhea prevalence, acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI), other health symptoms, and child development and growth. As part of this questionnaire, hemoglobin concentrations were measured in children younger than two years of age at the household level using the HemoCueTM Hb201 photometer, a portable device that allows for immediate and reliable quantitative results. Anthropometric (child growth) measures were made according to standardized protocols using portable stadiometers, scales, and measuring tape (Habicht 1974).

Community Questionnaire: The community questionnaire was administered at the GP-level to collect information about GP and district-level characteristics that could influence the intervention or the outcomes of interest (e.g., ongoing health and sanitation programs, connectivity to district headquarters, and other factors).

Water Samples: Water samples were collected from sources at the GP-level and at the household level for a subset of the households (n = X GP-level source samples; n = 354 HH samples). All of the water samples were analyzed by an accredited lab in Indore to determine presence of E. coli and other types of coliforms. The samples were collected within the household, inoculated using the Colilert reactive, and transported to a lab. At the lab, samples were incubated at 35 degrees Celsius for 24 hours, and results were read using an ultraviolet lamp. This procedure precluded sampling in areas where a cold chain could not be maintained.

Stool Samples: Stool samples were collected from children to examine the prevalence of parasites. These were collected from a subset of sampled households (n=216). The same lab in Indore analyzed these samples.

Cleaning operations

Baseline: The baseline survey was processed using the assistance of Sistemas Integrales in Chile.

Endline: Kimetrica International was contracted to design the data reduction system to be used during the endline. The data entry system was designed in CSPro (Version 4.1) using the DHS file management system as a standard for file management. Details of the system can be found in the attached manual entitled: Data Entry Manual for the Endline Survey.

The data entry system was based on a full double data entry (independent verification) of the various questionnaires. CSPro supports both dependent and independent verification (double keying) to ensure the accuracy of the data entry operation. Using independent verification, operators can key data into separate data files and use CSPro utilities to compare them and produce a report that indicates discrepancies in data entry.

The DHS system uses a fully integrated tracking system to follow the stages in the data entry process. This includes the checking in of questionnaires; the programming of logic in what is known as a system controlled environment. System controlled applications generally place more restrictions on the data entry operator. This is typically used for complex survey applications. The behavior of these applications at data entry time has the following characteristics:

• Some special data entry keys are not active during data entry.
• CSEntry will keep track of the path.
• 'Not applicable' or blanks values will not be allowed. Missing values have to be coded.
• More appropriate to the heads up methodology of data capture.
• Logic in the application is strictly enforced; operator cannot bypass or override.

Files were processed using the unique cluster number and then concatenated after a final stage of editing and output to both SPSS and STATA.

Furthermore, attempts were made to respect the values and the naming conventions as provided in the baseline. This required using non-conventional values for "missing" such as -99. In most cases the same value sets were applied or during the questionnaire review process the WSP was alerted to such discrepancies.

Sampling error estimates

Not applicable

Data appraisal

Although there was no formal or independent appraisal of the data, an appraisal was undertaken when the data files for Peru, India and Vietnam were prepared for a WSP presentation in Mexico. These data were presented in a public forum and scrutinized by various analysts. There was a process of feeding back information which helped correct or format or revise the data.

In 2018, about 73.7 percent of households in Maharashtra had exclusive access to toilets, while 12.8 percent did not have access to toilets. These results come from the 76th NSO survey conducted between July and December 2018, which found over 20 percent of households across the country with no access to any kind of toilets.

One of the goals of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, a clean India campaign launched by the Modi government, aimed to eliminate open defecation in the country by building toilets. Since 2014, 80 million toilets were built, making 419 districts in the country free from open defecation.

Demographic characteristics, defecation practices, and social beliefs of the study population, Tamil Nadu, India 2020.

Abstract

This study has been designed to investigate innovative ways of increasing the uptake and usage of safe sanitation and to provide evidence on the links between improved sanitation and health insurance. It does so by studying two distinct but linked projects.

Component 1 promotes the take up of improved sanitation with microfinance loans provided by Grameen Koota in rural Maharashtra. Social mobilization will be conducted by the NGO Navya Disha. These interventions aim to improve health and reduce health care costs of the poor in rural India, potentially reflected in lower health insurance claim volumes.

Component 2 proposes to explore primary community health insurance provided to communities that become open defecation free (ODF), conditional on sustaining their ODF status. If this is successful, the evidence will be strong advocacy material to encourage insurance companies to promote similar products at low rates throughout India, improving the sustainability of ODF.

A household listing exercise and a baseline survey were conducted from September 2014 to January 2015. Two main goals of the baseline data collection were to provide a snapshot of the study population, serving as a useful tool to understand the context in which the intervention is taking place, and to formally test whether there are any systematic differences between the treatment and control group prior to the intervention. The baseline survey collected information on socio-economic and welfare characteristics of household members, including access to sanitation facilities, self-reported open defecation, and prevalence of disease.

Random assignment of treatment and an endline survey are planned after the baseline survey. The endline survey will follows the same households sampled in baseline, and supplement additional to account for any potential attrition.

Geographic coverage

120 Gram Panchayats in two Districts in Maharashtra, Nanded and Latur.

Analysis unit

• Villages
• Households

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

Detailed description of sampling procedures is available in "Understanding the Links and Interactions between Low Sanitation and Health Insurance in India Baseline report", pp.34-44.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Personal Interview [capi]

Research instrument

The data was collected using the following survey instruments: - Listing questionnaire - Community (village) questionnaire - Household questionnaire - Women questionnaire - Men questionnaire

Primary data of 1530 households from the state of Uttarakhand, India on individual health (specifically water-borne disease), household and village attributes, and sanitation quality (including drain quality, toilets, open-defecation). Survey date, November 2004 - January 2005.

人们露天排便：农村：占农村人口百分比在12-01-2022达17.006%，相较于12-01-2021的20.380%有所下降。人们露天排便：农村：占农村人口百分比数据按年更新，12-01-2000至12-01-2022期间平均值为54.448%，共23份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-2000，达91.486%，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-2022，为17.006%。CEIC提供的人们露天排便：农村：占农村人口百分比数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于World Bank，数据归类于全球数据库的印度 – Table IN.World Bank.WDI: Social: Access to Services。