Drinking water services in South Sudan

South Sudan: Drinking water services was 1.40 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.40 million people
Change on year
up 3.6%
World rank
20th
of 231 countries
All-time high
2.15 million people
in 2012
All-time low
1.30 million people
in 2022
Years of data
14
2011–2024

Drinking water services in South Sudan, 2011–2024

0500.0k1.0M1.5M2.0M2011201720242011: 2.1M people2012: 2.1M people2013: 2.1M people2014: 2.1M people2015: 1.9M people2016: 1.8M people2017: 1.6M people2018: 1.5M people2019: 1.5M people2020: 1.4M people2021: 1.4M people2022: 1.3M people2023: 1.4M people2024: 1.4M people

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 South Sudan is 1.40 million people, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.6% on the previous year and down 31.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drinking water services in South Sudan peaked at 2.15 million people in 2012 and was at its lowest, 1.30 million people, in 2022.

That places South Sudan 20th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 1.88 million people 1.49 million people 2.15 million people 9
2020s 1.38 million people 1.30 million people 1.44 million people 5

Countries ranked near South Sudan

  1. 17 Colombia 1.83 million people compare
  2. 18 Ghana 1.45 million people compare
  3. 19 Chad 1.44 million people compare
  4. 21 China 1.30 million people compare
  5. 22 Cameroon 1.27 million people compare
  6. 23 Zimbabwe 1.20 million people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for South Sudan

All data for South Sudan →

Frequently asked questions

What is drinking water services in South Sudan?
Drinking water services in South Sudan was 1.40 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 South Sudan?
The highest recorded value was 2.15 million people in 2012.
What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in South Sudan?
The lowest recorded value was 1.30 million people in 2022.
How does South Sudan rank for drinking water services?
South Sudan ranks 20th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is drinking water services rising or falling in South Sudan?
Over the last ten years it is down 31.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Sudan 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 — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Drinking water services
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
231 places, 5,429 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.