People using improved drinking water sources in Japan
Japan: People using improved drinking water sources was 1.01 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People using improved drinking water sources in Japan, 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
Japan recorded 1.01 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 0.5% on the previous year and down 29.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using improved drinking water sources in Japan peaked at 1.89 million people in 2004 and was at its lowest, 1.01 million people, in 2024.
Japan ranks 47th of 231 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People using improved drinking water sources in Japan, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.88 million people | — |
| 2001 | 1.88 million people | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 1.89 million people | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 1.89 million people | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 1.89 million people | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 1.85 million people | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 1.81 million people | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 1.76 million people | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 1.72 million people | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 1.67 million people | -2.6% |
| 2010 | 1.63 million people | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 1.58 million people | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 1.54 million people | -3.0% |
| 2013 | 1.49 million people | -3.1% |
| 2014 | 1.44 million people | -3.2% |
| 2015 | 1.40 million people | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 1.35 million people | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 1.30 million people | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 1.26 million people | -3.5% |
| 2019 | 1.21 million people | -3.7% |
| 2020 | 1.16 million people | -4.0% |
| 2021 | 1.11 million people | -4.3% |
| 2022 | 1.06 million people | -4.5% |
| 2023 | 1.02 million people | -4.6% |
| 2024 | 1.01 million people | -0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.82 million people | 1.67 million people | 1.89 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.42 million people | 1.21 million people | 1.63 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.07 million people | 1.01 million people | 1.16 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More environment data for Japan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.8 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.358 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.86 °C (2025)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Export quantity, annual growth rate 111 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Export quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Export quantity, per capita 0.0001 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Export value, annual growth rate 19.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood, non-coniferous — Export 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 Japan?
- People using improved drinking water sources in Japan was 1.01 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 1.89 million people in 2004.
- What is the lowest people using improved drinking water sources recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.01 million people in 2024.
- How does Japan rank for people using improved drinking water sources?
- Japan ranks 47th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan 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.