Drinking water usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 448,001 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
448,001 people
Change on year
up 4.6%
World rank
7th
of 188 countries
All-time high
650,355 people
in 2002
All-time low
373,738 people
in 2020
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Drinking water usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024

0200.0k400.0k600.0k2000201220242000: 644.6k people2001: 648.4k people2002: 650.4k people2003: 650.3k people2004: 649.1k people2005: 647.4k people2006: 644.4k people2007: 639.5k people2008: 632.8k people2009: 624.9k people2010: 615.5k people2011: 604.5k people2012: 591.5k people2013: 576.2k people2014: 558.0k people2015: 536.3k people2016: 512.4k people2017: 485.4k people2018: 452.9k people2019: 415.4k people2020: 373.7k people2021: 391.1k people2022: 409.2k people2023: 428.2k people2024: 448.0k people

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for drinking water usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo is 448,001 people, measured in 2024.

The figure is up 4.6% on the previous year and down 19.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drinking water usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 650,355 people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 373,738 people, in 2020.

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 7th of 188 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 643,172 people 624,871 people 650,355 people 10
2010s 534,808 people 415,412 people 615,493 people 10
2020s 410,035 people 373,738 people 448,001 people 5

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 4 Nigeria 578,953 people compare
  2. 5 Tanzania 522,756 people compare
  3. 6 Myanmar 452,585 people compare
  4. 8 Ethiopia 381,373 people compare
  5. 9 Algeria 311,575 people compare
  6. 10 Pakistan 311,248 people compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is drinking water usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Democratic Republic of Congo was 448,001 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 650,355 people in 2002.
What is the lowest drinking water usage in urban areas recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 373,738 people in 2020.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for drinking water usage in urban areas?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 7th out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
Is drinking water usage in urban areas rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is down 19.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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

Indicator
Drinking water usage in urban areas
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
188 places, 4,613 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.