## Chart of the Week: For India, Toilets Bring Benefits

_IMF Blog, February 27, 2017_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Chart of the Week: For India, Toilets Bring Benefits](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/02/27/chart-of-the-week-for-india-toilets-bring-benefits)

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- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2017/02/27/chart-of-the-week-for-india-toilets-bring-benefits/index.md)
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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: iMFdirect
- Published: February 27, 2017

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### Key findings on sanitation and socio-economic outcomes
- Improving public sanitation in India reduces time spent by women involved in household and childcare work by close to 10 percent.
- Improved sanitation increases labor force participation, or the proportion of women in the workforce, by 1.5 percent.
- Better sanitation contributes to a 1.4 percent increase in real GDP.
- Comparative data across the country show that better sanitation leads to higher female literacy rates.
- Poor sanitation negatively affects the quality and quantity of water and can have detrimental effects on health, education, quality of life, and women and girls’ safety.

### Program impact and coverage statistics
- Swachh Bharat (Clean India) initiative, launched in 2014, resulted in a 13 percent increase in the number of households with access to toilets.
- Despite these gains, 53 percent of households still lack a toilet.

### Policy implications and recommendations
- To maintain its rapid pace of economic growth, India must continue to improve access to sanitation facilities through infrastructure investments, targeted in rural areas, such as access to clean water.
- Policymakers should encourage the use of existing sanitation facilities and build awareness of their health benefits.

*Source: iMFdirect, February 27, 2017.*

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## References

- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/india-sanitation_chart.jpg](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/india-sanitation_chart.jpg)
- [Interview](http://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2017/02/21/NA022217-For-India-strong-growth-persists-despite-new-challenges)
- [Staff Report](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2017/02/22/India-2017-Article-IV-Consultation-Press-Release-Staff-Report-and-Statement-by-the-Executive-44670)
- [paper](http://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2017/02/22/India-Selected-Issues-44671)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2017/02/27/chart-of-the-week-for-india-toilets-bring-benefits_