Drinking water usage in urban areas in Nepal

Nepal: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 33,657 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
33,657 people
Change on year
down 6.1%
World rank
33rd
of 188 countries
All-time high
53,274 people
in 2004
All-time low
33,657 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

020.0k40.0k60.0k2000201220242000: 51.1k people2001: 52.6k people2002: 52.9k people2003: 53.2k people2004: 53.3k people2005: 53.3k people2006: 53.1k people2007: 52.8k people2008: 52.4k people2009: 51.9k people2010: 51.3k people2011: 50.5k people2012: 49.6k people2013: 48.5k people2014: 47.5k people2015: 46.5k people2016: 45.3k people2017: 44.0k people2018: 42.6k people2019: 41.5k people2020: 40.6k people2021: 39.5k people2022: 37.9k people2023: 35.8k people2024: 33.7k people

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

Analysis

Nepal recorded 33,657 people for drinking water usage in urban areas in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 6.1% on the previous year and down 29.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, drinking water usage in urban areas in Nepal peaked at 53,274 people in 2004 and was at its lowest, 33,657 people, in 2024.

That places Nepal 33rd out of 188 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 52,643 people 51,110 people 53,274 people 10
2010s 46,733 people 41,548 people 51,261 people 10
2020s 37,517 people 33,657 people 40,646 people 5

Countries ranked near Nepal

  1. 30 Zambia 48,160 people compare
  2. 31 Sierra Leone 41,709 people compare
  3. 32 Chad 35,308 people compare
  4. 34 Bolivia 31,870 people compare
  5. 35 Chile 31,242 people compare
  6. 36 Cambodia 27,080 people compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More environment data for Nepal

All data for Nepal →

Frequently asked questions

What is drinking water usage in urban areas in Nepal?
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Nepal was 33,657 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 Nepal?
The highest recorded value was 53,274 people in 2004.
What is the lowest drinking water usage in urban areas recorded in Nepal?
The lowest recorded value was 33,657 people in 2024.
How does Nepal rank for drinking water usage in urban areas?
Nepal ranks 33rd out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
Is drinking water usage in urban areas rising or falling in Nepal?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Nepal 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.