Drinking water service usage in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Drinking water service usage was 11.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
11.9%
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
159th
of 163 countries
All-time high
12.2%
in 2001
All-time low
11.2%
in 2020
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Drinking water service usage in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024

02.557.51012.52000201220242000: 12.2 %2001: 12.2 %2002: 12.2 %2003: 12.2 %2004: 12.2 %2005: 12.2 %2006: 12.1 %2007: 12.1 %2008: 12.1 %2009: 12 %2010: 12 %2011: 11.9 %2012: 11.9 %2013: 11.8 %2014: 11.8 %2015: 11.7 %2016: 11.6 %2017: 11.5 %2018: 11.4 %2019: 11.3 %2020: 11.2 %2021: 11.4 %2022: 11.6 %2023: 11.7 %2024: 11.9 %

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 156 Nepal 16.5% compare
  2. 157 Kiribati 15.1% compare
  3. 158 Ethiopia 13.5% compare
  4. 160 Sierra Leone 10.9% compare
  5. 161 Tuvalu 8.7% compare
  6. 162 Chad 6.3% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

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

Indicator
Drinking water service usage
Unit
%
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
163 places, 3,991 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people using an improved drinking water source that is located on premises, available when needed and free from faecal and priority chemical contamination.