Drinking water usage in urban areas in China
China: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 1.30 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water usage in urban areas in China, 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 usage in urban areas in China stood at 1.30 million people.
The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and down 33.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water usage in urban areas in China peaked at 2.09 million people in 2006 and was at its lowest, 1.28 million people, in 2023.
That places China 1st out of 188 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.93 million people | 1.65 million people | 2.09 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.89 million people | 1.64 million people | 2.06 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.40 million people | 1.28 million people | 1.56 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 15,536 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 11.03 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 498.98 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 32.75 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 736.76 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 3.9 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 1,485 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 4.13 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 5.54 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 195.67 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water usage in urban areas in China?
- Drinking water usage in urban areas in China was 1.30 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 usage in urban areas recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 2.09 million people in 2006.
- What is the lowest drinking water usage in urban areas recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.28 million people in 2023.
- How does China rank for drinking water usage in urban areas?
- China ranks 1st out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water usage in urban areas rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this China 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 usage in urban 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.