[🇮🇳] Af-Pak remain dirtiest countries in SE Asia, India & Nepal show imporvement.

[Swas]

Date of Event: Sep 17, 2025

Source: https://data.unicef.org/topic/water-and-sanitation/sanitation/

https://data.unicef.org/topic/water-and-sanitation/sanitation/

UNICEF's lasest published report regarding sanitation (data updated till 2024) shows that India and Nepal have made signifacnt imprvement over past 10 years in providing basic sanitation facilities to it's people. Open-defecation remains a serious problem in SE Asia with countries like Pakistan and Afganistan remaining the worst- performers. Almsot two in five Pakistanis practise open-defecation. Afganistan's almsot half population does. Bangladesh sees 32% of it's population practise open defecation.

In India only 17% population is forced to defecate in open in 2024 and only 14% in Nepal. Sri Lanka remains the leader in sanitation rankings in SE Asia with an impressive 95% population having access to Sanitation facilities.

Percentage of populations with access to at least Basic Sanitation facilities

Pak 59%
India 83%
Afghan 54%
SL 95%
BD 68%
Nepal 86%

The complete list and data can be seen in this excel file. It shows data from year 2000, 2015 and 2024 as published by UNICEF.

https://data.unicef.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/JMP_WASH_HH_2025_by_country-2.xlsx

 

[Israel Person]

Do not conduct unprovoked personal attacks

 

[Swas]

https://www.unicef.org/india/stories/decade-indias-transformative-sanitation-mission

Ever since Modi came to pwoer in 2014 and launched Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India movement) Indi's sanitation has improved considerably. The sanitation ratings are improing every single year. Thousands of villages, 80% of total have been delcared ODF (Open-defacation free). Sanitation Milestone India: 80% Villages Achieve ODF Plus Model Status


https://ddnews.gov.in/en/sanitation-revolution-in-11-years-of-modi-govt-over-12-crore-toilets-built/ The goverment has funded construction of millions of new toilets and explansion of existing ones.

India is hoping to become 100% open defecation free by 2035, surpassing even Sri Lanka, the regional leader in sanitation.

 

[Mainerik]

https://www.unicef.org/india/stories/decade-indias-transformative-sanitation-mission

Ever since Modi came to pwoer in 2014 and launched Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India movement) Indi's sanitation has improved considerably. The sanitation ratings are improing every single year. Thousands of villages, 80% of total have been delcared ODF (Open-defacation free). Sanitation Milestone India: 80% Villages Achieve ODF Plus Model Status


https://ddnews.gov.in/en/sanitation-revolution-in-11-years-of-modi-govt-over-12-crore-toilets-built/ The goverment has funded construction of millions of new toilets and explansion of existing ones.

India is hoping to become 100% open defecation free by 2035, surpassing even Sri Lanka, the regional leader in sanitation.

@Krishna with Flute

 

[Swas]

@Sharma Ji @Krishna with Flute

India was mocked for lack of toilets but Post-2014 reformation has been very impressive. Now Af-Pak are the toilet-less shitholes of SE Asia.

 

[Mainerik]

@Sharma Ji @Krishna with Flute

India was mocked for lack of toilets but Post-2014 reformation has been very impressive. Now Af-Pak are the toilet-less shitholes of SE Asia.

@Jiangnan

 

[Krishna with Flute]

@Krishna with Flute

We have now over 98 % sanitization as per last report. Not only that but India saves around 300 K children because of batter hygiene. They used to die because of Collera disease as per WHO report.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

@Sharma Ji @Krishna with Flute

India was mocked for lack of toilets but Post-2014 reformation has been very impressive. Now Af-Pak are the toilet-less shitholes of SE Asia.

Actually Pakis are such guys who can mock India for open defection for half of an hour on mobile while defecting in open waiting for poo to release because of high constipation.

 

[Mainerik]

Actually Pakis are such guys who can mock India for open defection for half of an hour on mobile while defecting in open waiting for poo to release because of high constipation.

@Bilal9

 

[Bilal9]

@Bilal9

Why are we even arguing this?

It is well known that Billions of dollars were spent in India to construct toilets - however they are not being used for defecation - rather than storage or other uses.

People in some Indian states (primarily cow belt - please correct me if I'm wrong) have deep seated religious habits of going outside the immediate house to defecate - these habits are hard to break. In Pakistan or Afghanistan this happens because of cultural reasons (again - not sure, please correct me).

As of last World Bank report conducted in 2022 - India is the champion at 11%, Afghanistan following at 9%, Pakistan following again at 7%. Of course with time - gradual changes will happen, but earth-shaking changes are NOT expected (unlike some countries which claim it).

Bangladesh has been at 0% for a long, long time (since 2018 as a matter of fact).
Why - you may ask?

The NGO involvement in Bangladesh (for this and other UN millennium SDG goals) is extremely active, and their funding is provided heavily by outside as well as Bangladesh Govt. sources.

Take a look,

World Bank Open Data

Free and open access to global development data

data.worldbank.org

 

[Swas]

I trust UNICEF over world-bank data anyday.

More than 80% of Indian villages are already ODF.

https://www.unicef.org/india/what-we-do/ending-open-defecation

 

[Bilal9]

Guys enough with the name-calling.

@Israel Person there was no need for you conducting an unprovoked personal attack on a fellow member.

Next time - stronger action will follow.

What is up with you all ??

@Lulldapull can you please delete foul language in your two reactive posts - as the language is unbecoming of our standards here. @Israel Person 's post has been deleted and he was warned.

 

[Bilal9]

I trust UNICEF over world-bank data anyday.

More than 80% of Indian villages are already ODF.

https://www.unicef.org/india/what-we-do/ending-open-defecation

This is what AI says,

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

India is not completely open defecation free as of 2024. While significant progress has been made, challenges remain, particularly in rural areas.

Current Status of Open Defecation in India​

As of 2022, approximately 11% of India's population was still practicing open defecation, a significant decrease from 73% in 2000. The government declared India open defecation free (ODF) in 2019, but reports indicate that 17% of the rural population continued to defecate in the open as of 2022.

Key Points​

• Swachh Bharat Mission: Launched in 2014, this initiative aimed to improve sanitation and reduce open defecation. It has led to the construction of over 110 million toilets and provided access to safe sanitation for nearly 500 million people.
• Rural Challenges: Despite the progress, many rural areas still lack basic sanitation facilities. Reports suggest that about 25% of the rural population do not have access to even basic sanitation.
• Behavioral Change: The transition from open defecation to using toilets involves not just infrastructure but also significant behavioral change, which has not been fully achieved.

Recent Developments​

• The government has shifted focus to ODF Plus, which emphasizes sustaining ODF status and improving waste management practices.
• There are ongoing efforts to address the remaining challenges, but the reality is that open defecation persists in certain areas, particularly where access to sanitation facilities is limited.

In summary, while India has made remarkable strides towards reducing open defecation, it is not entirely free from the practice, especially in rural regions.

 

[Bilal9]

https://www.unicef.org/india/stories/decade-indias-transformative-sanitation-mission

Ever since Modi came to pwoer in 2014 and launched Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India movement) Indi's sanitation has improved considerably. The sanitation ratings are improing every single year. Thousands of villages, 80% of total have been delcared ODF (Open-defacation free). Sanitation Milestone India: 80% Villages Achieve ODF Plus Model Status


https://ddnews.gov.in/en/sanitation-revolution-in-11-years-of-modi-govt-over-12-crore-toilets-built/ The goverment has funded construction of millions of new toilets and explansion of existing ones.

India is hoping to become 100% open defecation free by 2035, surpassing even Sri Lanka, the regional leader in sanitation.

I am happy that Mr. Modi is taking care of sanitation goals in India.

 

[Krishna with Flute]

Why are we even arguing this?

It is well known that Billions of dollars were spent in India to construct toilets - however they are not being used for defecation - rather than storage or other uses.

People in some Indian states (primarily cow belt - please correct me if I'm wrong) have deep seated religious habits of going outside the immediate house to defecate - these habits are hard to break. In Pakistan or Afghanistan this happens because of cultural reasons (again - not sure, please correct me).

As of last World Bank report conducted in 2022 - India is the champion at 11%, Afghanistan following at 9%, Pakistan following again at 7%. Of course with time - gradual changes will happen, but earth-shaking changes are NOT expected (unlike some countries which claim it).

Bangladesh has been at 0% for a long, long time (since 2018 as a matter of fact).
Why - you may ask?

The NGO involvement in Bangladesh (for this and other UN millennium SDG goals) is extremely active, and their funding is provided heavily by outside as well as Bangladesh Govt. sources.

Take a look,

World Bank Open Data

Free and open access to global development data

data.worldbank.org

One thing very special about India is adaptability. No matter whether it was customary practice, it will be abandoned like many other practices.