People using improved drinking water sources in India
India: People using improved drinking water sources was 22.33 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People using improved drinking water sources in India, 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
India recorded 22.33 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 23.4% on the previous year and down 74.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using improved drinking water sources in India peaked at 151.39 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 22.33 million people, in 2024.
That places India 4th 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 India, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 151.39 million people | — |
| 2001 | 148.20 million people | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 144.67 million people | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 140.90 million people | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 136.94 million people | -2.8% |
| 2005 | 132.75 million people | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 128.34 million people | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 123.71 million people | -3.6% |
| 2008 | 118.88 million people | -3.9% |
| 2009 | 113.93 million people | -4.2% |
| 2010 | 108.86 million people | -4.4% |
| 2011 | 103.62 million people | -4.8% |
| 2012 | 98.21 million people | -5.2% |
| 2013 | 92.63 million people | -5.7% |
| 2014 | 86.85 million people | -6.2% |
| 2015 | 80.91 million people | -6.8% |
| 2016 | 74.86 million people | -7.5% |
| 2017 | 68.68 million people | -8.3% |
| 2018 | 62.36 million people | -9.2% |
| 2019 | 55.91 million people | -10.3% |
| 2020 | 49.35 million people | -11.7% |
| 2021 | 42.66 million people | -13.6% |
| 2022 | 35.91 million people | -15.8% |
| 2023 | 29.14 million people | -18.8% |
| 2024 | 22.33 million people | -23.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 133.97 million people | 113.93 million people | 151.39 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.29 million people | 55.91 million people | 108.86 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.88 million people | 22.33 million people | 49.35 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Import quantity, annual growth rate -15.37 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import quantity, per capita 0.0006 m3 per person (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import value, annual growth rate 14.81 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using improved drinking water sources in India?
- People using improved drinking water sources in India was 22.33 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 151.39 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people using improved drinking water sources recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.33 million people in 2024.
- How does India rank for people using improved drinking water sources?
- India ranks 4th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is down 74.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this India 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.
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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.