Drinking water service usage in Malawi
Malawi: Drinking water service usage was 18.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water service usage in Malawi, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 18.2% for drinking water service usage in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 39.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water service usage in Malawi peaked at 18.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, in 2000.
That places Malawi 153rd out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water service usage in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.9% | — |
| 2001 | 7.3% | +5.3% |
| 2002 | 7.7% | +5.2% |
| 2003 | 8.1% | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 8.5% | +4.9% |
| 2005 | 8.9% | +4.8% |
| 2006 | 9.3% | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 9.7% | +4.6% |
| 2008 | 10.2% | +4.4% |
| 2009 | 10.6% | +4.4% |
| 2010 | 11.1% | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 11.5% | +4.3% |
| 2012 | 12.0% | +4.2% |
| 2013 | 12.5% | +4.2% |
| 2014 | 13.0% | +4.1% |
| 2015 | 13.6% | +4.1% |
| 2016 | 14.1% | +4.0% |
| 2017 | 14.7% | +4.0% |
| 2018 | 15.2% | +3.9% |
| 2019 | 15.8% | +3.9% |
| 2020 | 16.4% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 17.0% | +3.8% |
| 2022 | 17.7% | +3.7% |
| 2023 | 17.9% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 18.2% | +1.4% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 18.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 18.2%, 1.0× the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 18.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 27.4%, 66% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.7% | 6.9% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.3% | 11.1% | 15.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.4% | 16.4% | 18.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % 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 5.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water service usage in Malawi?
- Drinking water service usage in Malawi was 18.2% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 18.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest drinking water service usage recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for drinking water service usage?
- Malawi ranks 153rd out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water service usage rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.