Drinking water services in rural areas in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Drinking water services in rural areas was 455,386 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water services in rural areas in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka stood at 455,386 people.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 14.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Sri Lanka peaked at 621,661 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 453,937 people, in 2023.
Sri Lanka ranks 43rd 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 599,838 people | 570,216 people | 621,661 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 529,682 people | 493,936 people | 562,549 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 466,552 people | 453,937 people | 484,513 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 37.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.7 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.6851 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0046 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0737 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 11.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0632 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.72 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in rural areas in Sri Lanka?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Sri Lanka was 455,386 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 621,661 people in 2000.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 453,937 people in 2023.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Sri Lanka ranks 43rd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.