Drinking water services in Malawi
Malawi: Drinking water services was 353,212 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in Malawi, 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
Malawi recorded 353,212 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 10.4% on the previous year and down 47.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in Malawi peaked at 845,017 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 353,212 people, in 2024.
That places Malawi 49th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in Malawi, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 845,017 people | — |
| 2001 | 837,058 people | -0.9% |
| 2002 | 828,500 people | -1.0% |
| 2003 | 819,496 people | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 810,236 people | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 800,712 people | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 790,746 people | -1.2% |
| 2007 | 780,169 people | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 769,045 people | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 756,954 people | -1.6% |
| 2010 | 743,366 people | -1.8% |
| 2011 | 728,039 people | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 710,854 people | -2.4% |
| 2013 | 691,840 people | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 670,967 people | -3.0% |
| 2015 | 648,059 people | -3.4% |
| 2016 | 623,263 people | -3.8% |
| 2017 | 596,582 people | -4.3% |
| 2018 | 567,868 people | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 537,194 people | -5.4% |
| 2020 | 504,543 people | -6.1% |
| 2021 | 469,761 people | -6.9% |
| 2022 | 432,899 people | -7.8% |
| 2023 | 394,068 people | -9.0% |
| 2024 | 353,212 people | -10.4% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 353,212 people is below the median for low income countries, which is 650,397 people, 54% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 353,212 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 511,332 people, 69% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 803,793 people | 756,954 people | 845,017 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 651,803 people | 537,194 people | 743,366 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 430,897 people | 353,212 people | 504,543 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % 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 5.3 % 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 Malawi?
- Drinking water services in Malawi was 353,212 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 845,017 people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 353,212 people in 2024.
- How does Malawi rank for drinking water services?
- Malawi ranks 49th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi 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.