Bangladesh 2014

Nationally, 10 percent of households use an appropriate water treatment method, which has not
changed since 2011 (NIPORT et al. 2013). Rural households are much less likely than urban households to
treat their water appropriately (3 percent and 27 percent, respectively). Overall, boiling water prior to
drinking is the most common treatment method (6 percent). However, only one in five urban households
boil the water for drinking, while less than 1 percent of rural households do so.
Households without proper sanitation facilities have a greater risk of diseases like diarrhea,
dysentery, and typhoid than households with improved sanitation facilities that are not shared with other
households. Table 2.2 shows that 45 percent of households have an improved (not shared) toilet facility,
which increased from 34 percent in 2011 (NIPORT et al. 2013). Another 24 percent of households use a
facility that would be considered improved if it were not shared with other households. Facilities that are
shared are not considered to be as hygienic as those that are not shared. About one-third of the households
use a non-improved toilet facility (31 percent); 22 percent of households use pit latrines without slabs, and
3 percent use a hanging toilet. Four percent of households have no toilet facility, nearly unchanged since
2011, when 5 percent of households had no toilet facility (NIPORT et al. 2013). Rural households are more
likely than urban households to have no toilet facility (5 percent versus 1 percent). Although the majority of
households (65 percent) do not share their toilet, rural households are more likely than urban households to
use a toilet facility that is not shared (67 versus 58 percent, respectively). However, rural households are
twice as likely to have non-improved toilet facilities as urban households (36 compared with 19 percent).
Table 2.2 Household sanitation facilities
Percent distribution of households and de jure population by type of toilet/latrine facilities, according to residence,
Bangladesh 2014
Households
Population
Type of toilet/latrine facility Urban Rural Total Urban Rural Total
Improved, not shared facility 48.6 43.6 45.0 52.2 46.2 47.8
Flush/pour flush to piped sewer
system 6.5 0.2 2.0 6.7 0.2 2.0
Flush/pour flush to septic tank 15.8 4.5 7.6 17.0 5.0 8.2
Flush/pour flush to pit latrine 1.3 0.7 0.9 1.3 0.7 0.9
Ventilated improved pit (VIP)
latrine 11.1 10.9 11.0 11.9 11.6 11.7
Pit latrine with slab 13.8 27.3 23.5 15.3 28.7 25.1
Shared facility 1 32.6 20.3 23.8 29.5 17.7 20.9
Flush/pour flush to piped sewer
system 4.6 0.1 1.3 4.1 0.1 1.2
Flush/pour flush to septic tank 8.1 1.7 3.5 7.0 1.4 3.0
Flush/pour flush to pit latrine 1.0 0.3 0.5 0.9 0.2 0.4
Ventilated improved pit (VIP)
latrine 7.4 4.0 5.0 6.9 3.7 4.5
Pit latrine with slab 11.5 14.3 13.6 10.7 12.3 11.8
Non-improved facility 18.9 36.0 31.2 18.3 36.1 31.3
Flush/pour flush not to
sewer/septic tank/pit latrine 8.3 0.4 2.6 7.7 0.3 2.3
Pit latrine without slab/open pit 8.6 26.9 21.8 8.7 27.4 22.3
Hanging toilet/hanging latrine 1.0 3.9 3.1 1.0 4.2 3.3
No facility/bush/field 1.0 4.7 3.7 0.9 4.2 3.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Shared sanitation facility
Not shared 57.7 67.3 64.6 61.8 71.2 68.7
Shared with 1-4 households 23.9 28.7 27.3 21.6 25.2 24.2
5-9 households 10.4 3.2 5.2 9.2 2.8 4.6
10 + households 7.9 0.8 2.8 7.3 0.7 2.5
Don’t know/missing 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.0
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Number 4,844 12,456 17,300 21,101 56,225 77,326
1
Shared facility of an otherwise improved type
Hand washing, which protects against communicable diseases, is promoted by the government of
Bangladesh and its development partners. Table 2.3 provides information on designated places for hand
washing in households and on the use of water and cleansing agents for washing hands, according to place
of residence (urban or rural), divisions, and wealth quintiles.
Housing Characteristics and Household Population • 11