Drinking water service usage in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Drinking water service usage was 25.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water service usage in Zimbabwe, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, drinking water service usage in Zimbabwe stood at 25.5%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water service usage in Zimbabwe peaked at 29.8% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 25.5%, in 2024.
That places Zimbabwe 147th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.4% | 28.7% | 29.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.4% | 26.4% | 28.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.8% | 25.5% | 26.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
- 144 Tonga 29.6% compare
- 145 Mozambique 27.5% compare
- 146 Senegal 27.2% compare
- 148 Guinea-Bissau 24.0% compare
- 149 Madagascar 22.1% compare
- 150 Togo 20.5% compare
More environment data for Zimbabwe
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 30.78 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.85 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 9.2 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.05 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.9067 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0093 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 12.79 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0022 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0156 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.6 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water service usage in Zimbabwe?
- Drinking water service usage in Zimbabwe was 25.5% 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 29.8% in 2004.
- What is the lowest drinking water service usage recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.5% in 2024.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for drinking water service usage?
- Zimbabwe ranks 147th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water service usage rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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 faecal and priority chemical contamination.