Drinking water usage in urban areas in Eritrea
Eritrea: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 6,369 people in 2016. ▲ Rising
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Eritrea, 2000–2016
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 Eritrea is 6,369 people, measured in 2016. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.3% on the previous year and up 63.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water usage in urban areas in Eritrea peaked at 6,369 people in 2016 and was at its lowest, 2,240 people, in 2000.
Eritrea ranks 52nd of 188 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2,240 people | — |
| 2001 | 2,460 people | +9.8% |
| 2002 | 2,713 people | +10.3% |
| 2003 | 3,008 people | +10.9% |
| 2004 | 3,331 people | +10.7% |
| 2005 | 3,621 people | +8.7% |
| 2006 | 3,899 people | +7.7% |
| 2007 | 4,189 people | +7.4% |
| 2008 | 4,548 people | +8.6% |
| 2009 | 4,869 people | +7.0% |
| 2010 | 5,180 people | +6.4% |
| 2011 | 5,497 people | +6.1% |
| 2012 | 5,799 people | +5.5% |
| 2013 | 5,969 people | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 6,108 people | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 6,229 people | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 6,369 people | +2.3% |
Eritrea compared with similar countries
- Eritrea's 6,369 people is below the median for low income countries, which is 16,882 people, 38% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Eritrea's 6,369 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10,146 people, 63% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3,488 people | 2,240 people | 4,869 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 5,879 people | 5,180 people | 6,369 people | 7 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More environment data for Eritrea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -12.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.14 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 57.1 % change on previous year (2023)
- Standard Deviation 0.531 °C (2023)
- Temperature change 0.012 °C (2023)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6471 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
- 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 0.3665 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
Frequently asked questions
- What is drinking water usage in urban areas in Eritrea?
- Drinking water usage in urban areas in Eritrea was 6,369 people in 2016, 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 Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 6,369 people in 2016.
- What is the lowest drinking water usage in urban areas recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 2,240 people in 2000.
- How does Eritrea rank for drinking water usage in urban areas?
- Eritrea ranks 52nd out of 188 countries with data for 2016.
- Is drinking water usage in urban areas rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 63.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eritrea 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 — 17 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.