Who had soap and water at a household handwashing facility in West Africa?

Ghana’s residence gap was nearly 24 percentage points

Ghana recorded 54.99% in urban areas and 31.31% in rural areas in 2024. The 23.68-point difference was the largest in the five-country comparison. Côte d’Ivoire had a 20.27-point gap, with 31.41% urban and 11.14% rural. Source 2 Source 3

Senegal’s rural estimate rose while its urban estimate fell

Senegal’s rural rate increased from 5.40% in 2015 to 20.52% in 2024. Its urban estimate fell from 36.80% to 33.27%. The gap narrowed from 31.40 to 12.75 points as the two residence series moved in opposite directions. Source 2 Source 3

National estimates combine populations of different sizes

Nationally, Ghana recorded 45.48%, followed by Nigeria at 31.31%, Senegal at 26.90%, Côte d’Ivoire at 22.01% and Benin at 12.86%. A national estimate reflects the mix of urban and rural residents. Averaging the two residence rates without population weights can give a different result. Source 1 Source 4

The indicator tracks an available facility

The basic hygiene indicator requires a handwashing facility on the premises with both soap and water. The JMP uses survey observations and estimates coverage across years. The series cannot establish how often people wash their hands or whether supplies were available on every day of the year. Source 4

Sources

• WHO and UNICEF JMP via World Bank, national basic handwashing estimates
• WHO and UNICEF JMP via World Bank, urban handwashing estimates
• WHO and UNICEF JMP via World Bank, rural handwashing estimates
• World Bank metadata and JMP estimation method
• World Bank economy metadata, capital coordinates