Municipal water withdrawal in Kenya
Kenya: Municipal water withdrawal was 626.74 million cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Municipal water withdrawal in Kenya, 1990–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
In 2023, municipal water withdrawal in Kenya stood at 626.74 million cubic meters.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 47.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Kenya peaked at 1.19 billion cubic meters in 2015 and was at its lowest, 403.00 million cubic meters, in 1990.
Kenya ranks 74th of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Kenya, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 403.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1991 | 408.15 million cubic meters | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 413.31 million cubic meters | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 418.46 million cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 423.62 million cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 428.77 million cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 433.92 million cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 1997 | 439.08 million cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 1998 | 444.23 million cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 1999 | 449.38 million cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 454.54 million cubic meters | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 459.69 million cubic meters | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 464.85 million cubic meters | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 470.00 million cubic meters | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 572.29 million cubic meters | +21.8% |
| 2005 | 674.57 million cubic meters | +17.9% |
| 2006 | 776.86 million cubic meters | +15.2% |
| 2007 | 879.14 million cubic meters | +13.2% |
| 2008 | 981.43 million cubic meters | +11.6% |
| 2009 | 1.08 billion cubic meters | +10.4% |
| 2010 | 1.19 billion cubic meters | +9.4% |
| 2011 | 1.19 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.19 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.19 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.19 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.19 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 495.00 million cubic meters | -58.3% |
| 2017 | 520.75 million cubic meters | +5.2% |
| 2018 | 546.51 million cubic meters | +4.9% |
| 2019 | 572.26 million cubic meters | +4.7% |
| 2020 | 598.02 million cubic meters | +4.5% |
| 2021 | 623.77 million cubic meters | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 636.26 million cubic meters | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 626.74 million cubic meters | -1.5% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 626.74 million cubic meters is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 245.90 million cubic meters, 2.5× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 626.74 million cubic meters is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 144.05 million cubic meters, 4.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Municipal water withdrawal in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | -58.3% | 1.19 billion cubic meters | 495.00 million cubic meters |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 426.19 million cubic meters | 403.00 million cubic meters | 449.38 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 681.71 million cubic meters | 454.54 million cubic meters | 1.08 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 925.27 million cubic meters | 495.00 million cubic meters | 1.19 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 621.20 million cubic meters | 598.02 million cubic meters | 636.26 million cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More environment data for Kenya
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -8.08 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.27 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.12 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.39 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water withdrawal in Kenya?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Kenya was 626.74 million cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 1.19 billion cubic meters in 2015.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 403.00 million cubic meters in 1990.
- How does Kenya rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Kenya ranks 74th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year for direct use by the population, usually measured as the total supplied by the public distribution network.