Drinking water usage in urban areas in Malaysia

Malaysia: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 25,346 people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
25,346 people
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
38th
of 188 countries
All-time high
25,346 people
in 2024
All-time low
12,811 people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

010.0k20.0k30.0k2000201220242000: 12.8k people2001: 13.3k people2002: 13.9k people2003: 14.4k people2004: 14.9k people2005: 15.5k people2006: 16.0k people2007: 16.6k people2008: 17.2k people2009: 17.7k people2010: 18.3k people2011: 18.8k people2012: 19.3k people2013: 19.8k people2014: 20.3k people2015: 20.9k people2016: 21.4k people2017: 22.0k people2018: 22.5k people2019: 23.1k people2020: 23.5k people2021: 24.0k people2022: 24.4k people2023: 24.9k people2024: 25.3k people

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

Analysis

Malaysia recorded 25,346 people for drinking water usage in urban areas in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 24.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drinking water usage in urban areas in Malaysia peaked at 25,346 people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 12,811 people, in 2000.

Malaysia ranks 38th of 188 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 15,236 people 12,811 people 17,738 people 10
2010s 20,633 people 18,288 people 23,056 people 10
2020s 24,432 people 23,534 people 25,346 people 5

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 35 Chile 31,242 people compare
  2. 36 Cambodia 27,080 people compare
  3. 37 Guatemala 25,569 people compare
  4. 39 South Africa 23,480 people compare
  5. 40 Niger 22,670 people compare
  6. 41 Peru 18,108 people compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More environment data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is drinking water usage in urban areas in Malaysia?
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Malaysia was 25,346 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 Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 25,346 people in 2024.
What is the lowest drinking water usage in urban areas recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 12,811 people in 2000.
How does Malaysia rank for drinking water usage in urban areas?
Malaysia ranks 38th out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
Is drinking water usage in urban areas rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is up 24.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia 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.