Archive · 28 Sep 2026
India Has 50 Million Children Without School Sanitation Services
A WHO-UNICEF report examined water, toilets and handwashing facilities in schools.
In 2025, 244 million children worldwide did not have school sanitation services.
India had the largest number, with 50 million children affected.
India did make progress by reducing the number of schools without sanitation by 14 per cent.
About 20 million Indian children also lacked hygiene services at school.
Around 12 million lacked drinking-water services.
The report says countries need to improve much faster to meet their 2030 goals.
If progress continues at the current rate, many schools will still lack basic water, sanitation or hygiene services in 2030.
India accounted for 50 million of the 244 million children lacking school sanitation services worldwide in 2025.
The country reduced the number of schools without sanitation services by 14 per cent during the assessed period.
Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Indonesia followed with 34, 26, 11 and 8 million affected children, respectively.
Around 20 million Indian children lacked school hygiene services, while about 12 million lacked drinking-water services.
The world is not on track for universal school WASH access by 2030 without substantially faster progress.
- Who
- The World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund Joint Monitoring Programme assessed school water, sanitation and hygiene services, with children in India and other countries affected.
- What
- The report found that 244 million children lacked school sanitation services in 2025, including 50 million in India.
- When
- The figures refer to 2025, with progress assessed over 2015–2025.
- Where
- The findings cover schools worldwide, with India recording the highest number of children lacking sanitation services.
- Why
- The assessment monitors progress toward Sustainable Development Goal targets for safe, inclusive schools and universal water, sanitation and hygiene access.
- Global sanitation gap
- 244 million children lacked sanitation services at school in 2025.
- India’s share
- 50 million Indian children lacked school sanitation services, nearly one-fifth of the global total.
- India’s sanitation progress
- The number of schools without sanitation declined by 14 per cent during the assessed period.
- Indian children without hygiene
- Around 20 million Indian children lacked hygiene services at school.
- Indian children without drinking water
- Around 12 million Indian children lacked drinking-water services at school in 2025.
- 2030 projections
- Current trajectories indicate that 84 per cent of schools will have basic water services, 81 per cent basic sanitation and 79 per cent basic hygiene.
- Required acceleration
- Progress must increase fourfold for water, fivefold for sanitation and fourfold for hygiene to achieve universal coverage.
Sources
50 Million Indian Children Lacked School Sanitation Services In 2025: WHO-UNICEF Report
50 million Indian children still lack sanitation services in schools: WHO-UNICEF report
India accounts for highest number of children without school sanitation access: WHO-UNICEF - Telegraph India
