Drinking water services in rural areas in Eritrea
Eritrea: Drinking water services in rural areas was 528,044 people in 2016. ▲ Rising
Drinking water services in rural areas in Eritrea, 2000–2016
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2016, drinking water services in rural areas in Eritrea stood at 528,044 people.
The figure is down 0.4% on the previous year and up 78.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Eritrea peaked at 535,232 people in 2013 and was at its lowest, 77,119 people, in 2000.
That places Eritrea 39th out of 178 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 77,119 people | — |
| 2001 | 110,492 people | +43.3% |
| 2002 | 145,757 people | +31.9% |
| 2003 | 183,738 people | +26.1% |
| 2004 | 223,642 people | +21.7% |
| 2005 | 261,059 people | +16.7% |
| 2006 | 296,676 people | +13.6% |
| 2007 | 331,897 people | +11.9% |
| 2008 | 371,290 people | +11.9% |
| 2009 | 413,479 people | +11.4% |
| 2010 | 454,394 people | +9.9% |
| 2011 | 495,196 people | +9.0% |
| 2012 | 533,818 people | +7.8% |
| 2013 | 535,232 people | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 533,631 people | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 530,135 people | -0.7% |
| 2016 | 528,044 people | -0.4% |
Eritrea compared with similar countries
- Eritrea's 528,044 people is below the median for low income countries, which is 542,348 people, 97% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Eritrea's 528,044 people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 241,515 people | 77,119 people | 413,479 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 515,779 people | 454,394 people | 535,232 people | 7 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More environment data for Eritrea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -12.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.14 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 57.1 % change on previous year (2023)
- Standard Deviation 0.531 °C (2023)
- Temperature change 0.012 °C (2023)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6471 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
- 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 0.3665 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in rural areas in Eritrea?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Eritrea was 528,044 people in 2016, 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 Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 535,232 people in 2013.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 77,119 people in 2000.
- How does Eritrea rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Eritrea ranks 39th out of 178 countries with data for 2016.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 78.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eritrea 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 — 17 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.