Drinking water services in China
China: Drinking water services was 1.30 million people in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Drinking water services in China, 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 China stood at 1.30 million people.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and down 88.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in China peaked at 33.34 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.28 million people, in 2023.
That places China 21st out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 28.87 million people | 20.84 million people | 33.34 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.63 million people | 3.14 million people | 18.81 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.42 million people | 1.28 million people | 1.69 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 15,536 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 11.03 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 498.98 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 32.75 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 736.76 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 3.9 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 1,485 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 4.13 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 5.54 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 195.67 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in China?
- Drinking water services in China was 1.30 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 33.34 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.28 million people in 2023.
- How does China rank for drinking water services?
- China ranks 21st out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 88.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China 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.