Drinking water services in rural areas in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Drinking water services in rural areas was 707,883 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in Sierra Leone, 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 Sierra Leone stood at 707,883 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.6% on the previous year and down 43.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Sierra Leone peaked at 1.60 million people in 2003 and was at its lowest, 707,883 people, in 2024.
That places Sierra Leone 31st out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.47 million people | — |
| 2001 | 1.55 million people | +5.7% |
| 2002 | 1.59 million people | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 1.60 million people | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 1.59 million people | -0.4% |
| 2005 | 1.57 million people | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 1.54 million people | -2.0% |
| 2007 | 1.51 million people | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 1.48 million people | -2.0% |
| 2009 | 1.45 million people | -2.0% |
| 2010 | 1.42 million people | -2.1% |
| 2011 | 1.38 million people | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 1.35 million people | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 1.31 million people | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 1.26 million people | -3.3% |
| 2015 | 1.22 million people | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 1.17 million people | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 1.12 million people | -4.2% |
| 2018 | 1.07 million people | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 1.02 million people | -5.1% |
| 2020 | 958,867 people | -5.6% |
| 2021 | 899,892 people | -6.2% |
| 2022 | 838,329 people | -6.8% |
| 2023 | 774,403 people | -7.6% |
| 2024 | 707,883 people | -8.6% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 707,883 people is above the median for low income countries, which is 542,348 people, 1.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 707,883 people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.53 million people | 1.45 million people | 1.60 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.23 million people | 1.02 million people | 1.42 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 835,875 people | 707,883 people | 958,867 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
- 28 Guinea 878,871 people compare
- 29 Yemen 825,460 people compare
- 30 South Africa 760,592 people compare
- 32 Cote d'Ivoire 691,482 people compare
- 33 Bangladesh 628,636 people compare
- 34 Tajikistan 565,346 people compare
More environment data for Sierra Leone
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.232 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.72 % 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 1.11 % 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 Sierra Leone?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Sierra Leone was 707,883 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 1.60 million people in 2003.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 707,883 people in 2024.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Sierra Leone ranks 31st out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.
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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.