Drinking water services in Yemen
Yemen: Drinking water services was 825,460 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in Yemen, 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
Yemen recorded 825,460 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 3.6% on the previous year and down 26.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in Yemen peaked at 1.24 million people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 825,460 people, in 2024.
That places Yemen 32nd 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 Yemen, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.18 million people | — |
| 2001 | 1.21 million people | +2.5% |
| 2002 | 1.24 million people | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 1.23 million people | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 1.23 million people | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 1.22 million people | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 1.22 million people | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 1.21 million people | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 1.21 million people | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 1.20 million people | -0.8% |
| 2010 | 1.19 million people | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 1.17 million people | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 1.16 million people | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 1.14 million people | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 1.12 million people | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 1.10 million people | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 1.08 million people | -2.1% |
| 2017 | 1.05 million people | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 1.02 million people | -2.7% |
| 2019 | 992,140 people | -2.9% |
| 2020 | 959,046 people | -3.3% |
| 2021 | 922,561 people | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 885,020 people | -4.1% |
| 2023 | 855,969 people | -3.3% |
| 2024 | 825,460 people | -3.6% |
Yemen compared with similar countries
- Yemen's 825,460 people is above the median for low income countries, which is 650,397 people, 1.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Yemen's 825,460 people is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 2,997 people, 275.4× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.21 million people | 1.18 million people | 1.24 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.10 million people | 992,140 people | 1.19 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 889,611 people | 825,460 people | 959,046 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Yemen
- 29 Cote d'Ivoire 943,025 people compare
- 30 Guinea 889,018 people compare
- 31 Algeria 845,976 people compare
- 33 South Africa 784,072 people compare
- 34 Bangladesh 783,630 people compare
- 35 Sierra Leone 749,592 people compare
More environment data for Yemen
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -36.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -31.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 43.43 % change on previous year (1998)
- Standard Deviation 0.393 °C (1998)
- Temperature change 1.37 °C (1998)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.66 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2018)
- 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 2.86 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2018)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in Yemen?
- Drinking water services in Yemen was 825,460 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 Yemen?
- The highest recorded value was 1.24 million people in 2002.
- What is the lowest drinking water services recorded in Yemen?
- The lowest recorded value was 825,460 people in 2024.
- How does Yemen rank for drinking water services?
- Yemen ranks 32nd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services rising or falling in Yemen?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Yemen 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.