Drinking water services in Nepal
Nepal: Drinking water services was 163,763 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in Nepal, 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
The most recent figure for drinking water services in Nepal is 163,763 people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 17.5% on the previous year and down 66.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in Nepal peaked at 867,248 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 163,763 people, in 2024.
Nepal ranks 59th of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in Nepal, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 867,248 people | — |
| 2001 | 847,451 people | -2.3% |
| 2002 | 827,603 people | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 806,173 people | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 782,974 people | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 758,043 people | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 731,477 people | -3.5% |
| 2007 | 703,522 people | -3.8% |
| 2008 | 674,599 people | -4.1% |
| 2009 | 644,870 people | -4.4% |
| 2010 | 614,511 people | -4.7% |
| 2011 | 582,892 people | -5.1% |
| 2012 | 550,068 people | -5.6% |
| 2013 | 516,938 people | -6.0% |
| 2014 | 484,306 people | -6.3% |
| 2015 | 452,761 people | -6.5% |
| 2016 | 420,723 people | -7.1% |
| 2017 | 387,495 people | -7.9% |
| 2018 | 354,478 people | -8.5% |
| 2019 | 324,530 people | -8.4% |
| 2020 | 296,218 people | -8.7% |
| 2021 | 266,409 people | -10.1% |
| 2022 | 233,518 people | -12.3% |
| 2023 | 198,556 people | -15.0% |
| 2024 | 163,763 people | -17.5% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 163,763 people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 261,824 people, 63% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 163,763 people is below the median for South Asia, which is 309,574 people, 53% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 764,396 people | 644,870 people | 867,248 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 468,870 people | 324,530 people | 614,511 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 231,693 people | 163,763 people | 296,218 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More environment data for Nepal
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.41 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.43 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.54 % 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 -6.53 % 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 Nepal?
- Drinking water services in Nepal was 163,763 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 867,248 people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 163,763 people in 2024.
- How does Nepal rank for drinking water services?
- Nepal ranks 59th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 66.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.