China vs India: People in rural areas not using an improved water source

China
30.67 million people
in 2024
India
19.16 million people
in 2024
China rank
2nd
India rank
5th

People in rural areas not using an improved water source over time

  • China
  • India
050.0M100.0M150.0M200.0M250.0M200020122024

How they compare

China currently reports 30.67 million people against 19.16 million people in India, a difference of 11.51 million people.

That makes China's figure about 1.6 times India's.

Across all 25 years both countries report, China has been ahead every year.

China ranks 2nd and India ranks 5th of 178 countries.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
People in rural areas not using an improved water source
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 4,351 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people not using improved drinking water sources. These people might use surface water sources or unprotected springs or wells, as no safe and reliable improved drinking water source is available to them.