People using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea
Eritrea: People using improved drinking water sources was 420,276 people in 2016. ▼ Falling
People using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea, 2000–2016
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Eritrea recorded 420,276 people for people using improved drinking water sources in 2016. That is the lowest value across all 17 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 23.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea peaked at 624,734 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 420,276 people, in 2016.
That places Eritrea 63rd out of 231 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 17 years of available data.
People using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 624,734 people | — |
| 2001 | 612,523 people | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 603,072 people | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 596,842 people | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 589,395 people | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 571,067 people | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 547,643 people | -4.1% |
| 2007 | 523,387 people | -4.4% |
| 2008 | 504,862 people | -3.5% |
| 2009 | 487,693 people | -3.4% |
| 2010 | 467,254 people | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 445,535 people | -4.6% |
| 2012 | 421,201 people | -5.5% |
| 2013 | 423,200 people | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 422,838 people | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 420,991 people | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 420,276 people | -0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 566,122 people | 487,693 people | 624,734 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 431,614 people | 420,276 people | 467,254 people | 7 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More environment data for Eritrea
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 57.1 % change on previous year (2023)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -12.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.14 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.531 °C (2023)
- Temperature change 0.012 °C (2023)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Import quantity 0 t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per capita 0.47 kg/cap (2024)
- Agriculture — Area 7,591 1000 ha (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per value of agricultural 0 g/Int$ (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per capita 0 kg/cap (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea?
- People using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea was 420,276 people in 2016, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest people using improved drinking water sources recorded in Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 624,734 people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people using improved drinking water sources recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 420,276 people in 2016.
- How does Eritrea rank for people using improved drinking water sources?
- Eritrea ranks 63rd out of 231 countries with data for 2016.
- Is people using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Eritrea 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 People using improved drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of people using only unimproved drinking water sources.