Drinking water service usage in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Drinking water service usage was 11.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water service usage in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Democratic Republic of Congo recorded 11.9% for drinking water service usage in 2024.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water service usage in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 12.2% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 11.2%, in 2020.
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 159th of 163 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water service usage in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 12.2% | — |
| 2001 | 12.2% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 12.2% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 12.2% | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 12.2% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 12.2% | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 12.1% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 12.1% | -0.2% |
| 2008 | 12.1% | -0.3% |
| 2009 | 12.0% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 12.0% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 11.9% | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 11.9% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 11.8% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 11.8% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 11.7% | -0.6% |
| 2016 | 11.6% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 11.5% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 11.4% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 11.3% | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 11.2% | -1.0% |
| 2021 | 11.4% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 11.6% | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 11.7% | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 11.9% | +1.2% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 11.9% is below the median for low income countries, which is 18.2%, 65% of the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 11.9% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 27.4%, 43% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 12.2% | 12.0% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.7% | 11.3% | 12.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.6% | 11.2% | 11.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.26 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 5.2 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 0.338 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water service usage in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Drinking water service usage in Democratic Republic of Congo was 11.9% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest drinking water service usage recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 12.2% in 2001.
- What is the lowest drinking water service usage recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.2% in 2020.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for drinking water service usage?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 159th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water service usage rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Drinking water service usage. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of people using an improved drinking water source that is located on premises, available when needed and free from fecal and priority chemical contamination.