Top 10 DIRTIEST African countries in 2024
Based on recent data from Yale University, below is a list of the top 10 dirtiest African countries in 2024.
Business Insider Africa has compiled a list of the top 10 dirtiest African countries in 2024. Eritrea, located in East Africa, has the lowest cleanliness rating in Africa for 2024. This stems from data in the latest Environmental Performance Index by Yale University in the US.
Environmental Performance Index
The Environmental Performance Index (EPI) provides a data-driven summary of the state of sustainability around the world. The EPI uses 58 performance indicators across 11 issue categories. It ranks 180 countries on climate change performance, environmental health, and also ecosystem vitality.
Funding from the McCall MacBain Foundation supports the EPI work at both Yale and Columbia Universities. Both these universities are located in the US.
Following is a section of the overall EPI scores showing Africa’s ratings.
In 2024, African countries that rank highly on the EPI are those that have prioritised environmental health and sustainability. These countries understand that a clean environment is not just a luxury but a necessity for economic growth, public health, and overall quality of life, as reported by Business Insider Africa.
African countries with lowest cleanliness ratings
“Cleanliness is next to godliness.”
English cleric John Wesley, 1778
Markedly, Eritrea in East Africa has the lowest cleanliness rating in Africa in 2024, with a score of 28.6, placing it 174th globally. Madagascar follows closely with a score of 29.9, ranked 173rd, and Djibouti with a score of 32.2, positioned at 167th worldwide.
Top 10 dirtiest African countries
| Rank | Country | EPI score |
| 1 | Eritrea | 28.6 |
| 2 | Madagascar | 29.9 |
| 3 | Djibouti | 32.2 |
| 4 | Burundi | 33.0 |
| 5 | Rwanda | 33.4 |
| 6 | Mali | 33.9 |
| 7 | Liberia | 34.1 |
| 8 | Mauritania | 34.2 |
| 9 | Malawi | 34.9 |
| 10 | Togo | 35.2 |
Sanitation and drinking water assessment: Africa
The sanitation and drinking water category in the EPI measures how well countries protect human health from environmental risks based on two indicators: unsafe drinking water and unsafe sanitation.
Out of the 180 countries assessed, the 10 countries with the lowest scores in this category are as follows:
| Country | Rank |
| Malawi | 171 |
| Burundi | 172 |
| Eritrea | 173 |
| Burkina Faso | 174 |
| Nigeria | 175 |
| Madagascar | 176 |
| Niger | 177 |
| Lesotho | 178 |
| Central African Republic | 179 |
| Chad | 180 |
Markedly, all of them are also in Africa.
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