Drinking water services in rural areas in Nigeria
Nigeria: Drinking water services in rural areas was 8.21 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in Nigeria, 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 Nigeria is 8.21 million people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 11.1% on the previous year and down 53.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Nigeria peaked at 26.18 million people in 2001 and was at its lowest, 8.21 million people, in 2024.
That places Nigeria 2nd out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 25.80 million people | — |
| 2001 | 26.18 million people | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 25.69 million people | -1.9% |
| 2003 | 25.18 million people | -2.0% |
| 2004 | 24.64 million people | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 24.08 million people | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 23.48 million people | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 22.87 million people | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 22.22 million people | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 21.55 million people | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 20.86 million people | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 20.14 million people | -3.4% |
| 2012 | 19.39 million people | -3.7% |
| 2013 | 18.61 million people | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 17.80 million people | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 16.95 million people | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 16.07 million people | -5.2% |
| 2017 | 15.16 million people | -5.6% |
| 2018 | 14.22 million people | -6.2% |
| 2019 | 13.26 million people | -6.8% |
| 2020 | 12.27 million people | -7.4% |
| 2021 | 11.27 million people | -8.2% |
| 2022 | 10.26 million people | -9.0% |
| 2023 | 9.24 million people | -9.9% |
| 2024 | 8.21 million people | -11.1% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 8.21 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 222,289 people, 37.0× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 8.21 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 15.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.17 million people | 21.55 million people | 26.18 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.25 million people | 13.26 million people | 20.86 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.25 million people | 8.21 million people | 12.27 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More environment data for Nigeria
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.07 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.281 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.15 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.78 % 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 0.4617 % 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 Nigeria?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Nigeria was 8.21 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 Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 26.18 million people in 2001.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.21 million people in 2024.
- How does Nigeria rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Nigeria ranks 2nd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 53.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nigeria 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.