Drinking water usage in urban areas in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Drinking water usage in urban areas was 57,751 people in 2024. ▲ Rising
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Papua New Guinea, 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
The most recent figure for drinking water usage in urban areas in Papua New Guinea is 57,751 people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.1% on the previous year and up 22.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, drinking water usage in urban areas in Papua New Guinea peaked at 57,751 people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 33,350 people, in 2000.
Papua New Guinea ranks 27th 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.
Drinking water usage in urban areas in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 33,350 people | — |
| 2001 | 34,445 people | +3.3% |
| 2002 | 35,573 people | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 36,723 people | +3.2% |
| 2004 | 37,892 people | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 38,814 people | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 39,740 people | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 40,668 people | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 41,599 people | +2.3% |
| 2009 | 42,530 people | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 43,462 people | +2.2% |
| 2011 | 44,362 people | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 45,223 people | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 46,109 people | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 47,024 people | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 47,968 people | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 48,944 people | +2.0% |
| 2017 | 49,951 people | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 50,999 people | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 52,084 people | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 53,176 people | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 54,272 people | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 55,386 people | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 56,536 people | +2.1% |
| 2024 | 57,751 people | +2.1% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 57,751 people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6,494 people, 8.9× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 38,133 people | 33,350 people | 42,530 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 47,613 people | 43,462 people | 52,084 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 55,424 people | 53,176 people | 57,751 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More environment data for Papua New Guinea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 1.56 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.183 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.834 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9266 % 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 0.6032 % 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 Papua New Guinea?
- Drinking water usage in urban areas in Papua New Guinea was 57,751 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 57,751 people in 2024.
- What is the lowest drinking water usage in urban areas recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 33,350 people in 2000.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for drinking water usage in urban areas?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 27th out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
- Is drinking water usage in urban areas rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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.