Drinking water services in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Drinking water services was 2.72 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in Afghanistan, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2024, drinking water services in Afghanistan stood at 2.72 million people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 6.9% on the previous year and down 40.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in Afghanistan peaked at 5.18 million people in 2004 and was at its lowest, 2.72 million people, in 2024.
That places Afghanistan 12th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.91 million people | — |
| 2001 | 4.94 million people | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 5.04 million people | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 5.18 million people | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 5.18 million people | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 5.16 million people | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 5.18 million people | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 5.07 million people | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 4.97 million people | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 4.93 million people | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 4.85 million people | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 4.80 million people | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 4.75 million people | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 4.67 million people | -1.8% |
| 2014 | 4.58 million people | -1.9% |
| 2015 | 4.46 million people | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 4.30 million people | -3.6% |
| 2017 | 4.14 million people | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 3.97 million people | -4.1% |
| 2019 | 3.79 million people | -4.5% |
| 2020 | 3.61 million people | -4.9% |
| 2021 | 3.38 million people | -6.3% |
| 2022 | 3.13 million people | -7.3% |
| 2023 | 2.92 million people | -6.7% |
| 2024 | 2.72 million people | -6.9% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 2.72 million people is above the median for low income countries, which is 650,397 people, 4.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 2.72 million people is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 2,997 people, 907.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.05 million people | 4.91 million people | 5.18 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.43 million people | 3.79 million people | 4.85 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.15 million people | 2.72 million people | 3.61 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More environment data for Afghanistan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -19.95 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -17.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.547 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.96 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.85 % 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 0.7636 % 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 services in Afghanistan?
- Drinking water services in Afghanistan was 2.72 million people 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 services recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 5.18 million people in 2004.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.72 million people in 2024.
- How does Afghanistan rank for drinking water services?
- Afghanistan ranks 12th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 40.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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 services. 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
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.