Democratic Republic of Congo vs Nigeria: People in rural areas not using an improved water source

Democratic Republic of Congo
38.51 million people
in 2024
Nigeria
28.85 million people
in 2024
Democratic Republic of Congo rank
1st
Nigeria rank
3rd

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

  • Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Nigeria
020.0M40.0M60.0M200020122024

How they compare

Democratic Republic of Congo currently reports 38.51 million people against 28.85 million people in Nigeria, a difference of 9.66 million people.

That makes Democratic Republic of Congo's figure about 1.3 times Nigeria's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 25 shared years of data; in 2000 it was Nigeria ahead.

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 1st and Nigeria ranks 3rd of 178 countries.

Across the 3 decades both report, Democratic Republic of Congo averaged higher in 1 and Nigeria in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Democratic Republic of Congo Nigeria Difference Ahead
2000s 26.42 million people 48.79 million people 22.37 million people Nigeria
2010s 32.12 million people 40.67 million people 8.55 million people Nigeria
2020s 37.03 million people 31.59 million people 5.45 million people Democratic Republic of Congo

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher people in rural areas not using an improved water source, Democratic Republic of Congo or Nigeria?
Democratic Republic of Congo, at 38.51 million people against 28.85 million people in Nigeria as of 2024.
What is the difference in people in rural areas not using an improved water source between Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria?
9.66 million people, with Democratic Republic of Congo ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria?
25 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2024.
How do Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria rank globally for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 1st and Nigeria ranks 3rd of 178 countries.
Where does this data come from?
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as People in rural areas not using an improved water source. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Democratic Republic of Congo vs Nigeria: People in rural areas not using an improved water source. Statizoid, drawing on WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/rural-without-improved-water/congo-dem-rep/nigeria/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://environment.statizoid.com/compare/rural-without-improved-water/congo-dem-rep/nigeria/">Democratic Republic of Congo vs Nigeria: People in rural areas not using an improved water source</a> — Statizoid

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.