Drinking water services in South Sudan
South Sudan: Drinking water services was 1.40 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in South Sudan, 2011–2024
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 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.
Drinking water services in South Sudan, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2.14 million people | — |
| 2012 | 2.15 million people | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 2.14 million people | -0.4% |
| 2014 | 2.06 million people | -3.6% |
| 2015 | 1.95 million people | -5.5% |
| 2016 | 1.81 million people | -7.0% |
| 2017 | 1.63 million people | -9.9% |
| 2018 | 1.53 million people | -6.4% |
| 2019 | 1.49 million people | -2.6% |
| 2020 | 1.44 million people | -3.2% |
| 2021 | 1.38 million people | -4.6% |
| 2022 | 1.30 million people | -5.2% |
| 2023 | 1.35 million people | +3.8% |
| 2024 | 1.40 million people | +3.6% |
South Sudan compared with similar countries
- South Sudan's 1.40 million people is above the median for low income countries, which is 650,397 people, 2.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- South Sudan's 1.40 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 511,332 people, 2.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More environment data for South Sudan
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -17.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -18.33 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.283 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Annual growth US$ -9.78 % (2024)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Value Standard 468,790 million SLC (2024)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Annual growth US$ 70.33 % (2024)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Annual growth -9.78 % (2024)
- Value Added (Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing) — Annual growth 10.41 % (2024)
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
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.