People using improved drinking water sources in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: People using improved drinking water sources was 16.98 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People using improved drinking water sources in Ethiopia, 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
Ethiopia recorded 16.98 million people for people using improved drinking water sources in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 6.0% on the previous year and down 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using improved drinking water sources in Ethiopia peaked at 29.23 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 16.98 million people, in 2024.
That places Ethiopia 5th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People using improved drinking water sources in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 29.23 million people | — |
| 2001 | 29.23 million people | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 29.20 million people | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 29.14 million people | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 29.05 million people | -0.3% |
| 2005 | 28.92 million people | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 28.75 million people | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 28.54 million people | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 28.24 million people | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 27.88 million people | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 27.49 million people | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 27.06 million people | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 26.58 million people | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 26.04 million people | -2.0% |
| 2014 | 25.45 million people | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 24.82 million people | -2.5% |
| 2016 | 24.15 million people | -2.7% |
| 2017 | 23.44 million people | -2.9% |
| 2018 | 22.68 million people | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 21.86 million people | -3.6% |
| 2020 | 21.01 million people | -3.9% |
| 2021 | 20.09 million people | -4.4% |
| 2022 | 19.11 million people | -4.9% |
| 2023 | 18.08 million people | -5.4% |
| 2024 | 16.98 million people | -6.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 28.82 million people | 27.88 million people | 29.23 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 24.96 million people | 21.86 million people | 27.49 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.05 million people | 16.98 million people | 21.01 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More environment data for Ethiopia
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.272 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.39 °C (2025)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Production, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Production, per capita 0.0006 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Import quantity, annual growth rate -53.9 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Import quantity, per capita 0 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Import value, annual growth rate -62.55 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using improved drinking water sources in Ethiopia?
- People using improved drinking water sources in Ethiopia was 16.98 million 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 people using improved drinking water sources recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 29.23 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people using improved drinking water sources recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.98 million people in 2024.
- How does Ethiopia rank for people using improved drinking water sources?
- Ethiopia ranks 5th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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 — 25 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.