Drinking water services in rural areas in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Drinking water services in rural areas was 628,636 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in Bangladesh, 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
In 2024, drinking water services in rural areas in Bangladesh stood at 628,636 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 12.6% on the previous year and down 60.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Bangladesh peaked at 2.81 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 628,636 people, in 2024.
That places Bangladesh 33rd out of 178 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 rural areas in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.81 million people | — |
| 2001 | 2.75 million people | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 2.67 million people | -2.7% |
| 2003 | 2.59 million people | -2.9% |
| 2004 | 2.51 million people | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 2.43 million people | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 2.34 million people | -3.7% |
| 2007 | 2.25 million people | -3.9% |
| 2008 | 2.15 million people | -4.2% |
| 2009 | 2.06 million people | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 1.96 million people | -4.7% |
| 2011 | 1.86 million people | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 1.77 million people | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 1.67 million people | -5.4% |
| 2014 | 1.57 million people | -5.8% |
| 2015 | 1.48 million people | -6.1% |
| 2016 | 1.38 million people | -6.5% |
| 2017 | 1.28 million people | -7.0% |
| 2018 | 1.19 million people | -7.5% |
| 2019 | 1.09 million people | -8.0% |
| 2020 | 997,311 people | -8.7% |
| 2021 | 902,803 people | -9.5% |
| 2022 | 810,430 people | -10.2% |
| 2023 | 719,446 people | -11.2% |
| 2024 | 628,636 people | -12.6% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 628,636 people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 222,289 people, 2.8× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 628,636 people is above the median for South Asia, which is 292,746 people, 2.1× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.46 million people | 2.06 million people | 2.81 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.53 million people | 1.09 million people | 1.96 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 811,725 people | 628,636 people | 997,311 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
- 30 South Africa 760,592 people compare
- 31 Sierra Leone 707,883 people compare
- 32 Cote d'Ivoire 691,482 people compare
- 34 Tajikistan 565,346 people compare
- 35 Togo 559,167 people compare
- 36 Bolivia 548,454 people compare
More environment data for Bangladesh
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.59 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.3 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.236 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.67 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.31 % 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 -2.43 % 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 Bangladesh?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Bangladesh was 628,636 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 Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 2.81 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 628,636 people in 2024.
- How does Bangladesh rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Bangladesh ranks 33rd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is down 60.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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.
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About this data
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.