Drinking water services in rural areas in Nepal
Nepal: Drinking water services in rural areas was 130,107 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in Nepal, 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 Nepal stood at 130,107 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 20.0% on the previous year and down 70.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Nepal peaked at 816,137 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 130,107 people, in 2024.
Nepal ranks 57th 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 Nepal, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 816,137 people | — |
| 2001 | 794,892 people | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 774,691 people | -2.5% |
| 2003 | 753,015 people | -2.8% |
| 2004 | 729,699 people | -3.1% |
| 2005 | 704,790 people | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 678,385 people | -3.7% |
| 2007 | 650,723 people | -4.1% |
| 2008 | 622,208 people | -4.4% |
| 2009 | 592,993 people | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 563,250 people | -5.0% |
| 2011 | 532,407 people | -5.5% |
| 2012 | 500,514 people | -6.0% |
| 2013 | 468,414 people | -6.4% |
| 2014 | 436,828 people | -6.7% |
| 2015 | 406,290 people | -7.0% |
| 2016 | 375,374 people | -7.6% |
| 2017 | 343,471 people | -8.5% |
| 2018 | 311,842 people | -9.2% |
| 2019 | 282,982 people | -9.3% |
| 2020 | 255,572 people | -9.7% |
| 2021 | 226,882 people | -11.2% |
| 2022 | 195,608 people | -13.8% |
| 2023 | 162,711 people | -16.8% |
| 2024 | 130,107 people | -20.0% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 130,107 people is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 222,289 people, 59% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 130,107 people is below the median for South Asia, which is 292,746 people, 44% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 711,753 people | 592,993 people | 816,137 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 422,137 people | 282,982 people | 563,250 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 194,176 people | 130,107 people | 255,572 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More environment data for Nepal
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.41 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.43 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.54 % 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 -6.53 % 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 Nepal?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Nepal was 130,107 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 816,137 people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 130,107 people in 2024.
- How does Nepal rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Nepal ranks 57th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 70.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.