Resource detail

Looking back on 25 years of water, sanitation and hygiene monitoring, the report provides a comprehensive assessment of progress since 1990. The MDG target for drinking water was achieved in 2010 but the world has missed the sanitation target by almost 700 million people. In 2015, 663 million people still lack improved drinking water sources, 2.4 billion lack improved sanitation facilities and 946 million still practice open defecation.

The report provides an overview of progress against the parameters specified in the MDG target for water and sanitation, in both urban and rural areas. It presents data for the world as a whole, and compares progress across regions. The report goes on to examine trends over the MDG period by region and by level of service. It pays particular attention to the numbers of people who have gained the highest level of service in drinking water supply – piped water on premises – and those with no service at all, who use surface water for drinking and practise open defecation.