Drinking water service usage in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone: Drinking water service usage was 10.9% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
10.9%
Change on year
up 2.7%
World rank
160th
of 163 countries
All-time high
10.9%
in 2024
All-time low
5.2%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Drinking water service usage in Sierra Leone, 2000–2024

02.557.5102000201220242000: 5.2 %2001: 5.3 %2002: 5.5 %2003: 5.7 %2004: 5.9 %2005: 6.1 %2006: 6.3 %2007: 6.5 %2008: 6.7 %2009: 7 %2010: 7.2 %2011: 7.4 %2012: 7.7 %2013: 7.9 %2014: 8.2 %2015: 8.4 %2016: 8.7 %2017: 9 %2018: 9.2 %2019: 9.5 %2020: 9.8 %2021: 10 %2022: 10.3 %2023: 10.6 %2024: 10.9 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Sierra Leone recorded 10.9% for drinking water service usage in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 33.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drinking water service usage in Sierra Leone peaked at 10.9% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.2%, in 2000.

Sierra Leone ranks 160th of 163 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 6.0% 5.2% 7.0% 10
2010s 8.3% 7.2% 9.5% 10
2020s 10.3% 9.8% 10.9% 5

Countries ranked near Sierra Leone

  1. 157 Kiribati 15.1% compare
  2. 158 Ethiopia 13.5% compare
  3. 159 Democratic Republic of Congo 11.9% compare
  4. 161 Tuvalu 8.7% compare
  5. 162 Chad 6.3% compare
  6. 163 Central African Republic 6.2% compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More environment data for Sierra Leone

All data for Sierra Leone →

Frequently asked questions

What is drinking water service usage in Sierra Leone?
Drinking water service usage in Sierra Leone was 10.9% 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 Sierra Leone?
The highest recorded value was 10.9% in 2024.
What is the lowest drinking water service usage recorded in Sierra Leone?
The lowest recorded value was 5.2% in 2000.
How does Sierra Leone rank for drinking water service usage?
Sierra Leone ranks 160th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is drinking water service usage rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
Over the last ten years it is up 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sierra Leone 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.