Most people without sanitation in India: report

India has the highest number of people without basic sanitation, according to a report.

The report says despite immense progress through the Swachh Bharat (Clean India) Mission, more than 732 million people still suffer fear and indignity of relieving themselves in the open or in unsafe or unhygienic toilets - a situation that is worse for women.

"In India, a staggering 355 million women and girls are still waiting for a toilet; if they were all to stand in a queue, it would stretch around the Earth more than four times!" WaterAid's State of the World's Toilets 2017 report says.

The report, quoting government data, says there has undoubtedly been immense progress made in improving access to sanitation by working with the Swachh Bharat Mission - with 52 million household toilets built between October 2014 and November 2017.

"India also ranks in the top ten for reducing open defecation and improving access to basic sanitation. But there is still a long way to go," says the report, titled 'Out of Order'.

According to the report, after India, China, the world's most populous country, comes in second, with 343 million people without decent toilets.

However, China too has made a lot of progress since 2000, when 40% of the population lacked basic sanitation.

Africa's most populous country, Nigeria, is in the third place.