Drinking water services in rural areas in Ecuador
Ecuador: Drinking water services in rural areas was 344,032 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in Ecuador, 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
Ecuador recorded 344,032 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 9.4% on the previous year and down 47.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Ecuador peaked at 918,976 people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 344,032 people, in 2024.
Ecuador ranks 46th of 178 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Ecuador, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 906,248 people | — |
| 2001 | 910,456 people | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 918,976 people | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 901,025 people | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 882,348 people | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 862,871 people | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 842,687 people | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 821,757 people | -2.5% |
| 2008 | 800,185 people | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 777,984 people | -2.8% |
| 2010 | 754,902 people | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 731,568 people | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 707,650 people | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 682,378 people | -3.6% |
| 2014 | 656,022 people | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 628,992 people | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 601,485 people | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 573,703 people | -4.6% |
| 2018 | 545,977 people | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 517,081 people | -5.3% |
| 2020 | 484,701 people | -6.3% |
| 2021 | 449,819 people | -7.2% |
| 2022 | 414,692 people | -7.8% |
| 2023 | 379,550 people | -8.5% |
| 2024 | 344,032 people | -9.4% |
Ecuador compared with similar countries
- Ecuador's 344,032 people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 845.16 people, 407.1× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Ecuador's 344,032 people is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 10,977 people, 31.3× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 862,454 people | 777,984 people | 918,976 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 639,976 people | 517,081 people | 754,902 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 414,559 people | 344,032 people | 484,701 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
More environment data for Ecuador
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.3767 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.4 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.49 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.65 % 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 -1.14 % 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 Ecuador?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Ecuador was 344,032 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 Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 918,976 people in 2002.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 344,032 people in 2024.
- How does Ecuador rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Ecuador ranks 46th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ecuador 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.