Drinking water services in rural areas by country

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

Countries reporting
175
Highest
9.82 million people
Kenya
Lowest
0 people
Wallis and Futuna
Median
5,020 people
Years covered
25
2000–2024
Data points
4,232

What the numbers show

Drinking water services in rural areas is currently reported for 175 countries. The highest value is 9.82 million people in Kenya; the lowest is 0 people in Wallis and Futuna.

The median across all reporting countries is 5,020 people, and the mean is 553,316 people.

Over the past decade 17 countries rose and 112 fell. The largest increase was in Eritrea (up 78.0%), and the largest decrease in Albania (down 100.0%).

Drinking water services in rural areas: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Kenya 9.82 million people 2024 down 5.1% rising
2 Nigeria 8.21 million people 2024 down 53.9% falling
3 Democratic Republic of Congo 8.01 million people 2024 up 1.6% falling
4 Tanzania 6.99 million people 2024 up 10.4% rising
5 India 4.82 million people 2024 down 48.4% falling
6 Ethiopia 4.69 million people 2024 down 67.2% falling
7 Myanmar 4.52 million people 2024 down 15.1% falling
8 Madagascar 2.89 million people 2024 down 37.1% falling
9 Angola 2.87 million people 2024 down 25.1% falling
10 Afghanistan 2.72 million people 2024 down 37.1% falling
11 Mozambique 2.66 million people 2024 down 8.5% falling
12 Pakistan 2.41 million people 2024 down 53.3% falling
13 Brazil 2.27 million people 2016 up 34.8% rising
14 Indonesia 2.20 million people 2024 down 47.9% falling
15 Sudan 2.16 million people 2024 down 15.5% falling
16 Colombia 1.83 million people 2014 down 4.8% flat
17 Uganda 1.78 million people 2024 down 34.6% falling
18 Ghana 1.45 million people 2024 down 34.8% falling
19 Chad 1.41 million people 2024 up 42.2% rising
20 South Sudan 1.33 million people 2024 down 27.8% falling
21 Zimbabwe 1.20 million people 2024 up 26.6% rising
22 Zambia 1.14 million people 2024 down 29.5% falling
23 Cameroon 1.03 million people 2024 down 20.7% falling
24 Cambodia 994,424 people 2024 down 49.1% falling
25 Rwanda 951,705 people 2024 down 13.0% falling
26 Russia 913,118 people 2007 down 2.7% flat
27 Papua New Guinea 887,444 people 2024 down 66.3% falling
28 Guinea 878,871 people 2024 down 26.2% falling
29 Yemen 825,460 people 2024 down 22.6% falling
30 South Africa 760,592 people 2024 down 62.1% falling
31 Sierra Leone 707,883 people 2024 down 43.9% falling
32 Cote d'Ivoire 691,482 people 2024 down 23.0% falling
33 Bangladesh 628,636 people 2024 down 60.0% falling
34 Tajikistan 565,346 people 2024 down 56.6% falling
35 Togo 559,167 people 2024 down 41.3% falling
36 Bolivia 548,454 people 2024 down 29.4% falling
37 Somalia 542,348 people 2024 down 55.9% falling
38 Algeria 534,400 people 2024 down 8.7% falling
39 Eritrea 528,044 people 2016 up 78.0% rising
40 Burundi 485,989 people 2023 down 33.7% falling
41 Niger 465,580 people 2024 down 4.7% rising
42 Liberia 464,195 people 2024 down 13.3% flat
43 Sri Lanka 455,386 people 2024 down 14.8% falling
44 Uzbekistan 399,896 people 2024 down 39.6% falling
45 Congo 359,525 people 2021 up 9.5% rising
46 Ecuador 344,032 people 2024 down 47.6% falling
47 Malawi 343,014 people 2024 down 48.0% falling
48 Iraq 333,006 people 2024 down 72.7% volatile
49 Peru 326,080 people 2024 down 63.5% falling
50 Benin 309,081 people 2024 down 41.1% falling
51 Guatemala 240,009 people 2024 down 26.2% falling
52 Malaysia 179,388 people 2007 down 2.2% flat
53 Central African Republic 176,542 people 2024 down 12.1% falling
54 Argentina 159,411 people 2016 down 40.8% falling
55 Mongolia 159,370 people 2024 down 32.3% falling
56 Haiti 135,497 people 2024 down 71.9% falling
57 Nepal 130,107 people 2024 down 70.2% falling
58 Eswatini 108,034 people 2024 down 38.9% falling
59 Kyrgyzstan 107,143 people 2024 down 72.7% falling
60 Chile 98,492 people 2024 down 55.3% falling
61 Turkey 96,895 people 2024 up 13.7% rising
62 Equatorial Guinea 95,622 people 2017 down 34.7% falling
63 Lesotho 82,624 people 2024 up 48.1% rising
64 Namibia 79,040 people 2024 down 19.9% falling
65 Mali 76,905 people 2024 down 76.3% falling
66 North Korea 68,600 people 2021 down 1.0% flat
67 East Timor 68,246 people 2024 up 7.0% rising
68 Dominican Republic 66,635 people 2024 down 12.9% falling
69 El Salvador 58,759 people 2024 down 61.8% falling
70 Iran 55,235 people 2024 down 7.8% volatile
71 Panama 46,333 people 2024 down 45.2% falling
72 Gabon 42,046 people 2024 down 37.9% falling
73 Ukraine 33,192 people 2024 up 21.3% rising
74 Solomon Islands 30,199 people 2024 down 5.4% falling
75 Cuba 25,750 people 2024 down 34.8% falling
76 Guinea-Bissau 18,100 people 2024 down 21.3% falling
77 Croatia 18,033 people 2007 down 2.9% flat
78 Fiji 15,768 people 2024 down 11.3% falling
79 Kazakhstan 15,719 people 2024 down 74.6% volatile
80 Jamaica 15,347 people 2024 down 64.8% falling
81 Vanuatu 14,835 people 2024 down 2.9% flat
82 Senegal 10,092 people 2024 down 86.8% falling
83 Saudi Arabia 9,357 people 2024 up 1.9% rising
84 Botswana 8,191 people 2024 down 66.6% falling
85 Egypt 7,069 people 2024 down 67.9% falling
86 Guyana 6,607 people 2024 down 60.3% falling
87 Mauritania 5,968 people 2024 down 92.4% volatile
88 Honduras 5,020 people 2024 down 91.9% volatile
89 Tunisia 3,828 people 2024 down 83.8% volatile
90 Suriname 3,536 people 2024 down 77.3% volatile
91 Comoros 3,032 people 2024 down 48.6% falling
92 Djibouti 2,721 people 2024 down 55.0% falling
93 Sao Tome and Principe 2,325 people 2024 down 59.6% falling
94 Oman 1,277 people 2024 up 19.4% volatile
95 Serbia 1,077 people 2024 down 17.9% falling
96 North Macedonia 845.16 people 2024 down 14.3% falling
97 Trinidad and Tobago 466.43 people 2024 down 36.1% falling
98 Samoa 423.37 people 2024 up 1.2% rising
99 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 404.31 people 2016 down 10.1% falling
100 Dominica 403.8 people 2024 down 8.9% falling
101 Jordan 358.91 people 2024 up 2.4% falling
102 Cyprus 213.63 people 2024 up 12.8% rising
103 Antigua and Barbuda 159.15 people 2024 up 6.8% rising
104 Gambia 36.07 people 2024 down 93.8% volatile
105 Montenegro 32.39 people 2024 down 89.3% volatile
106 Albania 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Andorra 0 people 2024 flat
106 United Arab Emirates 0 people 2024 flat
106 Armenia 0 people 2024 down 100.0% rising
106 Australia 0 people 2024 volatile
106 Austria 0 people 2024 flat
106 Azerbaijan 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Belgium 0 people 2024 flat
106 Burkina Faso 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Bulgaria 0 people 2024 flat
106 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Belarus 0 people 2024 flat
106 Belize 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Bhutan 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Canada 0 people 2024 flat
106 Switzerland 0 people 2024 flat
106 China 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Cape Verde 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Costa Rica 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Czechia 0 people 2024 flat
106 Germany 0 people 2024 flat
106 Denmark 0 people 2024 flat
106 Spain 0 people 2024 flat
106 Estonia 0 people 2024 flat
106 Finland 0 people 2024 flat
106 France 0 people 2024 flat
106 United Kingdom 0 people 2024 flat
106 Georgia 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Greece 0 people 2024 flat
106 Greenland 0 people 2024 flat
106 Hungary 0 people 2024 down 100.0% falling
106 Iceland 0 people 2024 flat
106 Israel 0 people 2024 flat
106 Kiribati 0 people 2024 flat
106 Laos 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Saint Lucia 0 people 2024 down 100.0% falling
106 Lithuania 0 people 2024 flat
106 Latvia 0 people 2024 flat
106 Morocco 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Moldova 0 people 2024 flat
106 Maldives 0 people 2024 flat
106 Mexico 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Marshall Islands 0 people 2024 flat
106 Mauritius 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Netherlands 0 people 2024 flat
106 Norway 0 people 2024 flat
106 New Zealand 0 people 2024 flat
106 Philippines 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Palau 0 people 2024 flat
106 Poland 0 people 2024 flat
106 Portugal 0 people 2024 flat
106 Paraguay 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Palestine 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Romania 0 people 2024 flat
106 San Marino 0 people 2024 flat
106 Slovakia 0 people 2024 flat
106 Sweden 0 people 2024 flat
106 Syria 0 people 2024 volatile
106 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 people 2024 flat
106 Thailand 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Turkmenistan 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Tonga 0 people 2024 flat
106 Tuvalu 0 people 2024 flat
106 Uruguay 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 United States 0 people 2024 flat
106 Vietnam 0 people 2024 down 100.0% volatile
106 Cook Islands 0 people 2024 flat
106 Falkland Islands 0 people 2020 flat
106 Tokelau 0 people 2024 flat
106 Wallis and Futuna 0 people 2024 flat

About this data

Indicator
Drinking water services in rural areas
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
178 places, 4,232 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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