Drinking water services in rural areas in North Korea
North Korea: Drinking water services in rural areas was 68,600 people in 2021. ▬ Flat
Drinking water services in rural areas in North Korea, 2013–2021
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 North Korea is 68,600 people, measured in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and down 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in North Korea peaked at 69,325 people in 2015 and was at its lowest, 68,600 people, in 2021.
North Korea ranks 66th of 178 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 69,238 people | 69,016 people | 69,325 people | 7 |
| 2020s | 68,713 people | 68,600 people | 68,826 people | 2 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
- 63 Lesotho 82,624 people compare
- 64 Namibia 79,040 people compare
- 65 Mali 76,905 people compare
- 67 East Timor 68,246 people compare
- 68 Dominican Republic 66,635 people compare
- 69 El Salvador 58,759 people compare
More environment data for North Korea
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 91.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.44 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 3.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 10.95 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0937 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 20.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.003 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.014 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.46 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in rural areas in North Korea?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in North Korea was 68,600 people in 2021, 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 North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 69,325 people in 2015.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 68,600 people in 2021.
- How does North Korea rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- North Korea ranks 66th out of 178 countries with data for 2021.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this North Korea 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 — 9 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.