Drinking water services in rural areas in Tanzania
Tanzania: Drinking water services in rural areas was 6.99 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water services in rural areas in Tanzania, 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
Tanzania recorded 6.99 million people for drinking water services in rural areas in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 10.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Tanzania peaked at 6.99 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 5.49 million people, in 2000.
That places Tanzania 4th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Tanzania, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.49 million people | — |
| 2001 | 5.56 million people | +1.4% |
| 2002 | 5.63 million people | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 5.69 million people | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 5.75 million people | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 5.82 million people | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 5.88 million people | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 5.94 million people | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 6.00 million people | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 6.03 million people | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 6.08 million people | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 6.13 million people | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 6.19 million people | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 6.26 million people | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 6.33 million people | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 6.41 million people | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 6.50 million people | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 6.59 million people | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 6.66 million people | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 6.72 million people | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 6.78 million people | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 6.84 million people | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 6.89 million people | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 6.94 million people | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 6.99 million people | +0.7% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 6.99 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 222,289 people, 31.4× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 6.99 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 13.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.78 million people | 5.49 million people | 6.03 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.39 million people | 6.08 million people | 6.72 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.89 million people | 6.78 million people | 6.99 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More environment data for Tanzania
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.29 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.06 % 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 5.16 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water services in rural areas in Tanzania?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Tanzania was 6.99 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 Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 6.99 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.49 million people in 2000.
- How does Tanzania rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Tanzania ranks 4th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.