Drinking water services in rural areas in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Drinking water services in rural areas was 1.20 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water services in rural areas in Zimbabwe, 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
Zimbabwe recorded 1.20 million people for drinking water services in rural areas in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 2.4% on the previous year and up 26.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water services in rural areas in Zimbabwe peaked at 1.20 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 692,624 people, in 2000.
Zimbabwe ranks 21st of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Drinking water services in rural areas in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 692,624 people | — |
| 2001 | 692,938 people | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 701,773 people | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 717,959 people | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 734,575 people | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 750,443 people | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 768,676 people | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 788,053 people | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 806,929 people | +2.4% |
| 2009 | 827,855 people | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 851,005 people | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 876,112 people | +3.0% |
| 2012 | 900,538 people | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 923,567 people | +2.6% |
| 2014 | 946,348 people | +2.5% |
| 2015 | 968,865 people | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 991,886 people | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 1.02 million people | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 1.04 million people | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 1.06 million people | +2.4% |
| 2020 | 1.09 million people | +2.4% |
| 2021 | 1.12 million people | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 1.14 million people | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 1.17 million people | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 1.20 million people | +2.4% |
Zimbabwe compared with similar countries
- Zimbabwe's 1.20 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 222,289 people, 5.4× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Zimbabwe's 1.20 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 528,044 people, 2.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 748,182 people | 692,624 people | 827,855 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 957,789 people | 851,005 people | 1.06 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.14 million people | 1.09 million people | 1.20 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More environment data for Zimbabwe
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 3.29 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.311 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.06 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.19 % 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 1.53 % 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 Zimbabwe?
- Drinking water services in rural areas in Zimbabwe was 1.20 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 1.20 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest drinking water services in rural areas recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 692,624 people in 2000.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for drinking water services in rural areas?
- Zimbabwe ranks 21st out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water services in rural areas rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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.