Drinking water usage in urban areas in Nepal
Nepal: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 33,657 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Nepal, 2000–2024
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.
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Nepal, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 51,110 people | — |
| 2001 | 52,559 people | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 52,912 people | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 53,158 people | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 53,274 people | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 53,254 people | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 53,092 people | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 52,798 people | -0.6% |
| 2008 | 52,392 people | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 51,877 people | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 51,261 people | -1.2% |
| 2011 | 50,486 people | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 49,554 people | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 48,525 people | -2.1% |
| 2014 | 47,478 people | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 46,470 people | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 45,350 people | -2.4% |
| 2017 | 44,023 people | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 42,635 people | -3.2% |
| 2019 | 41,548 people | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 40,646 people | -2.2% |
| 2021 | 39,527 people | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 37,910 people | -4.1% |
| 2023 | 35,845 people | -5.4% |
| 2024 | 33,657 people | -6.1% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 33,657 people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6,494 people, 5.2× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 33,657 people is above the median for South Asia, which is 16,828 people, 2.0× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More environment data for Nepal
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.41 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.43 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.54 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- 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 -6.53 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
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
Number of people using drinking water directly collected from surface waters.