Singapore ranks first in cleanliness worldwide, but not in terms of toilet hygiene

SINGAPORE: It is without a doubt that Singapore is known to be one of the cleanest countries in the world. This isn’t just a claim but a fact supported by data. As reported by Yan.sg, Singapore topped the charts in the 2026 Global Cleanest Cities ranking that was recently released, surpassing Helsinki, Zurich, and Vienna. Furthermore, another survey also shows that 74% of Singapore residents believe that their communities are much cleaner in today’s time, compared to their situation 15 years ago. 

The Singaporean government claimed that Singapore’s becoming one of the world’s cleanest cities is a result of long-term strategic efforts, and that maintaining the country’s cleanliness is a collective effort from its people. 

However, despite the impressive cleanliness results, no country is perfect. There are still matters that need to be addressed, and in the case of Singapore, it is the cleanliness of public restrooms. 

There was also a survey where nearly 70% of respondents felt that Singapore’s public restrooms were not clean enough. Many hawker centres and coffee shops have outdated facilities and have difficult-to-clean floorings. Alongside this, another concern lies in terms of renovations, where temporary business closures are needed and might impact livelihoods. 

Moreover, the biggest factor in this issue is the behaviour of users, where others don’t flush, some step on the toilets, some carelessly discard toilet paper, and even step on the soap and toilet paper. 

Even if the condition of public restrooms has improved in recent years. There has been an increase in satisfaction rates from users, but there is still a gap from the ideal state. As the survey reveals, the problem often lies not in the facilities but in how people use them. 

With this, the National Environment Agency (NEA) advises all public toilet owners to keep their toilets clean and make sure that all toilet facilities are provided. By doing so, it can promote good public hygiene. 

Read more about NEA’s advisory here.