Drinking water services in rural areas in Kenya
Kenya: Drinking water services in rural areas was 9.82 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water services in rural areas in Kenya, 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
The most recent figure for drinking water services in rural areas in Kenya is 9.82 million people, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Kenya peaked at 10.35 million people in 2014 and was at its lowest, 9.15 million people, in 2000.
That places Kenya 1st out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Kenya, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 9.15 million people | — |
| 2001 | 9.27 million people | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 9.39 million people | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 9.51 million people | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 9.62 million people | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 9.73 million people | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 9.83 million people | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 9.94 million people | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 10.03 million people | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 10.13 million people | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 10.21 million people | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 10.27 million people | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 10.32 million people | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 10.34 million people | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 10.35 million people | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 10.34 million people | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 10.32 million people | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 10.30 million people | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 10.25 million people | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 10.19 million people | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 10.13 million people | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 10.06 million people | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 9.98 million people | -0.8% |
| 2023 | 9.91 million people | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 9.82 million people | -0.8% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 9.82 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 222,289 people, 44.2× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 9.82 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 18.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.66 million people | 9.15 million people | 10.13 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.29 million people | 10.19 million people | 10.35 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.98 million people | 9.82 million people | 10.13 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More environment data for Kenya
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -8.08 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.27 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.12 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.25 % 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 2.87 % 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 Kenya?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Kenya was 9.82 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 10.35 million people in 2014.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.15 million people in 2000.
- How does Kenya rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Kenya ranks 1st out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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.