Drinking water services in rural areas in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Drinking water services in rural areas was 2.72 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in Afghanistan, 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
Afghanistan recorded 2.72 million people for drinking water services in rural areas in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.9% on the previous year and down 37.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Afghanistan peaked at 4.80 million people in 2006 and was at its lowest, 2.72 million people, in 2024.
Afghanistan ranks 10th of 178 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.52 million people | — |
| 2001 | 4.55 million people | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 4.65 million people | +2.1% |
| 2003 | 4.78 million people | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 4.79 million people | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 4.78 million people | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 4.80 million people | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 4.70 million people | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 4.62 million people | -1.8% |
| 2009 | 4.59 million people | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 4.53 million people | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 4.49 million people | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 4.46 million people | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 4.39 million people | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 4.33 million people | -1.5% |
| 2015 | 4.23 million people | -2.3% |
| 2016 | 4.10 million people | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 3.97 million people | -3.1% |
| 2018 | 3.83 million people | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 3.69 million people | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 3.54 million people | -4.0% |
| 2021 | 3.36 million people | -5.3% |
| 2022 | 3.13 million people | -6.7% |
| 2023 | 2.92 million people | -6.7% |
| 2024 | 2.72 million people | -6.9% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 2.72 million people is above the median for low income countries, which is 542,348 people, 5.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 2.72 million people is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 3,275 people, 830.7× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.68 million people | 4.52 million people | 4.80 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.20 million people | 3.69 million people | 4.53 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.13 million people | 2.72 million people | 3.54 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More environment data for Afghanistan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -19.95 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -17.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.547 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.96 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.85 % 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 0.7636 % 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 rural areas in Afghanistan?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Afghanistan was 2.72 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 in rural areas recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 4.80 million people in 2006.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.72 million people in 2024.
- How does Afghanistan rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Afghanistan ranks 10th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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 in rural areas. 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.