Drinking water services in Liberia
Liberia: Drinking water services was 468,786 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in Liberia, 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
Liberia recorded 468,786 people for drinking water services in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.4% on the previous year and down 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in Liberia peaked at 578,128 people in 2012 and was at its lowest, 468,786 people, in 2024.
Liberia ranks 43rd of 231 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in Liberia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 535,075 people | — |
| 2001 | 537,947 people | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 538,778 people | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 529,723 people | -1.7% |
| 2004 | 522,621 people | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 532,512 people | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 548,451 people | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 561,125 people | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 568,502 people | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 570,294 people | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 570,218 people | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 575,518 people | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 578,128 people | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 572,500 people | -1.0% |
| 2014 | 565,725 people | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 558,348 people | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 550,359 people | -1.4% |
| 2017 | 541,339 people | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 531,888 people | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 522,069 people | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 512,209 people | -1.9% |
| 2021 | 501,985 people | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 491,381 people | -2.1% |
| 2023 | 480,485 people | -2.2% |
| 2024 | 468,786 people | -2.4% |
Liberia compared with similar countries
- Liberia's 468,786 people is below the median for low income countries, which is 650,397 people, 72% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Liberia's 468,786 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 511,332 people, 92% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 544,503 people | 522,621 people | 570,294 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 556,609 people | 522,069 people | 578,128 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 490,969 people | 468,786 people | 512,209 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Liberia
More environment data for Liberia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.21 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.28 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.221 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.42 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.07 % 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 0.261 % 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 Liberia?
- Drinking water services in Liberia was 468,786 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 Liberia?
- The highest recorded value was 578,128 people in 2012.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in Liberia?
- The lowest recorded value was 468,786 people in 2024.
- How does Liberia rank for drinking water services?
- Liberia ranks 43rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in Liberia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Liberia 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.