Drinking water usage in urban areas in Kenya

Kenya: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 867,884 people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
867,884 people
Change on year
up 5.3%
World rank
2nd
of 188 countries
All-time high
867,884 people
in 2024
All-time low
207,370 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Drinking water usage in urban areas in Kenya, 2000–2024

200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k2000201220242000: 207.4k people2001: 222.3k people2002: 238.2k people2003: 254.9k people2004: 272.8k people2005: 291.7k people2006: 311.7k people2007: 332.8k people2008: 355.2k people2009: 379.0k people2010: 403.7k people2011: 429.3k people2012: 455.7k people2013: 483.1k people2014: 511.4k people2015: 540.6k people2016: 571.3k people2017: 603.4k people2018: 636.3k people2019: 670.5k people2020: 706.4k people2021: 743.6k people2022: 782.8k people2023: 824.4k people2024: 867.9k 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 Kenya is 867,884 people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 5.3% on the previous year and up 69.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drinking water usage in urban areas in Kenya peaked at 867,884 people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 207,370 people, in 2000.

Kenya ranks 2nd of 188 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 286,599 people 207,370 people 378,983 people 10
2010s 530,536 people 403,681 people 670,485 people 10
2020s 784,993 people 706,352 people 867,884 people 5

Countries ranked near Kenya

  1. 1 China 1.30 million people compare
  2. 3 India 858,136 people compare
  3. 4 Nigeria 578,953 people compare
  4. 5 Tanzania 522,756 people compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More environment data for Kenya

All data for Kenya →

Frequently asked questions

What is drinking water usage in urban areas in Kenya?
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Kenya was 867,884 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 Kenya?
The highest recorded value was 867,884 people in 2024.
What is the lowest drinking water usage in urban areas recorded in Kenya?
The lowest recorded value was 207,370 people in 2000.
How does Kenya rank for drinking water usage in urban areas?
Kenya ranks 2nd out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
Is drinking water usage in urban areas rising or falling in Kenya?
Over the last ten years it is up 69.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Kenya 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.