Drinking water service usage in Palau
Palau: Drinking water service usage was 90.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water service usage in Palau, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for drinking water service usage in Palau is 90.8%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water service usage in Palau peaked at 90.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 65.4%, in 2000.
That places Palau 70th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water service usage in Palau, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 65.4% | — |
| 2001 | 66.3% | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 67.2% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 68.1% | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 69.1% | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 70.2% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 71.3% | +1.6% |
| 2007 | 72.4% | +1.6% |
| 2008 | 73.6% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 74.7% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 75.9% | +1.5% |
| 2011 | 77.0% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 78.2% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 79.4% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 80.6% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 81.8% | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 83.0% | +1.5% |
| 2017 | 84.2% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 85.5% | +1.5% |
| 2019 | 86.7% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 87.9% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 89.2% | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 90.4% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 90.6% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 90.8% | +0.2% |
Palau compared with similar countries
- Palau's 90.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 98.7%, 92% of the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Palau's 90.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 64.6%, 1.4× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 69.8% | 65.4% | 74.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.2% | 75.9% | 86.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 89.8% | 87.9% | 90.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Palau
- 67 French Guiana 92.2% compare
- 68 Kazakhstan 91.5% compare
- 69 Oman 91.1% compare
- 71 Andorra 90.6% compare
- 72 American Samoa 90.5% compare
- 73 French Polynesia 90.4% compare
More environment data for Palau
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 14.18 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.167 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Cropland — Area per capita 0.13 ha/cap (2024)
- Cropland — Share in Land area 5 % (2024)
- Arable land — Area 0.3 1000 ha (2024)
- Arable land — Share in Agricultural land 6.98 % (2024)
- Permanent crops — Area 2 1000 ha (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 46.51 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water service usage in Palau?
- Drinking water service usage in Palau was 90.8% 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 Palau?
- The highest recorded value was 90.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest drinking water service usage recorded in Palau?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.4% in 2000.
- How does Palau rank for drinking water service usage?
- Palau ranks 70th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water service usage rising or falling in Palau?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Palau 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.