People using improved drinking water sources in Kenya
Kenya: People using improved drinking water sources was 3.77 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People using improved drinking water sources in Kenya, 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
Kenya recorded 3.77 million people for people using improved drinking water sources in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.1% on the previous year and down 25.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using improved drinking water sources in Kenya peaked at 5.39 million people in 2005 and was at its lowest, 3.77 million people, in 2024.
That places Kenya 18th 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 Kenya, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5.32 million people | — |
| 2001 | 5.34 million people | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 5.36 million people | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 5.38 million people | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 5.39 million people | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 5.39 million people | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 5.39 million people | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 5.38 million people | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 5.37 million people | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 5.35 million people | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 5.32 million people | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 5.28 million people | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 5.22 million people | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 5.15 million people | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 5.07 million people | -1.6% |
| 2015 | 4.97 million people | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 4.87 million people | -2.0% |
| 2017 | 4.77 million people | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 4.64 million people | -2.5% |
| 2019 | 4.51 million people | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 4.38 million people | -3.0% |
| 2021 | 4.24 million people | -3.3% |
| 2022 | 4.09 million people | -3.5% |
| 2023 | 3.93 million people | -3.7% |
| 2024 | 3.77 million people | -4.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.37 million people | 5.32 million people | 5.39 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.98 million people | 4.51 million people | 5.32 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.08 million people | 3.77 million people | 4.38 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
- 15 Burkina Faso 4.28 million people compare
- 16 Côte d'Ivoire 4.10 million people compare
- 17 Poland 3.81 million people compare
- 19 Afghanistan 3.77 million people compare
- 20 Russian Federation 3.61 million people compare
- 21 Papua New Guinea 3.23 million people compare
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)
- Wood-based panels — Import quantity, annual growth rate 41.4 % 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 0.0043 m3 per person (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Import value, annual growth rate 27.87 % 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 Kenya?
- People using improved drinking water sources in Kenya was 3.77 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 5.39 million people in 2005.
- What is the lowest people using improved drinking water sources recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.77 million people in 2024.
- How does Kenya rank for people using improved drinking water sources?
- Kenya ranks 18th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Kenya 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.