Drinking water services in rural areas in Somalia
Somalia: Drinking water services in rural areas was 542,348 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in Somalia, 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 Somalia stood at 542,348 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 14.0% on the previous year and down 55.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Somalia peaked at 1.76 million people in 2004 and was at its lowest, 542,348 people, in 2024.
Somalia ranks 37th of 178 countries on this measure, 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 Somalia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.57 million people | — |
| 2001 | 1.63 million people | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 1.68 million people | +3.2% |
| 2003 | 1.72 million people | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 1.76 million people | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 1.73 million people | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 1.69 million people | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 1.74 million people | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 1.67 million people | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 1.59 million people | -4.8% |
| 2010 | 1.51 million people | -5.1% |
| 2011 | 1.40 million people | -7.2% |
| 2012 | 1.32 million people | -5.5% |
| 2013 | 1.28 million people | -3.6% |
| 2014 | 1.23 million people | -3.7% |
| 2015 | 1.18 million people | -4.2% |
| 2016 | 1.13 million people | -4.3% |
| 2017 | 1.07 million people | -4.9% |
| 2018 | 1.01 million people | -5.9% |
| 2019 | 943,598 people | -6.5% |
| 2020 | 875,034 people | -7.3% |
| 2021 | 800,735 people | -8.5% |
| 2022 | 717,325 people | -10.4% |
| 2023 | 630,635 people | -12.1% |
| 2024 | 542,348 people | -14.0% |
Somalia compared with similar countries
- Somalia's 542,348 people is above the median for low income countries, which is 542,348 people, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Somalia's 542,348 people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.68 million people | 1.57 million people | 1.76 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.21 million people | 943,598 people | 1.51 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 713,215 people | 542,348 people | 875,034 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
More environment data for Somalia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -28.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -24.06 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.278 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.53 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.5029 % 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 -0.1376 % 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 Somalia?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Somalia was 542,348 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 Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.76 million people in 2004.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 542,348 people in 2024.
- How does Somalia rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Somalia ranks 37th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Somalia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 55.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Somalia 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.