People using improved drinking water sources in Lao People's Democratic Republic
Lao People's Democratic Republic: People using improved drinking water sources was 321,392 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People using improved drinking water sources in Lao People's Democratic Republic, 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
Lao People's Democratic Republic recorded 321,392 people for people using improved drinking water sources in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 22.7% on the previous year and down 64.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using improved drinking water sources in Lao People's Democratic Republic peaked at 1.45 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 321,392 people, in 2024.
Lao People's Democratic Republic ranks 68th of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People using improved drinking water sources in Lao People's Democratic Republic, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.45 million people | — |
| 2001 | 1.42 million people | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 1.39 million people | -2.3% |
| 2003 | 1.35 million people | -2.6% |
| 2004 | 1.31 million people | -2.8% |
| 2005 | 1.28 million people | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 1.24 million people | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 1.21 million people | -2.9% |
| 2008 | 1.17 million people | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 1.13 million people | -3.4% |
| 2010 | 1.09 million people | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 1.04 million people | -4.0% |
| 2012 | 998,496 people | -4.3% |
| 2013 | 952,422 people | -4.6% |
| 2014 | 904,700 people | -5.0% |
| 2015 | 856,283 people | -5.4% |
| 2016 | 807,224 people | -5.7% |
| 2017 | 756,615 people | -6.3% |
| 2018 | 704,246 people | -6.9% |
| 2019 | 650,027 people | -7.7% |
| 2020 | 593,951 people | -8.6% |
| 2021 | 535,935 people | -9.8% |
| 2022 | 474,605 people | -11.4% |
| 2023 | 415,767 people | -12.4% |
| 2024 | 321,392 people | -22.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.29 million people | 1.13 million people | 1.45 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 875,899 people | 650,027 people | 1.09 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 468,330 people | 321,392 people | 593,951 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lao People's Democratic Republic
More environment data for Lao People's Democratic Republic
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.77 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.18 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -9.34 Percentage change (2024)
- Heating Degree Days 114.88 (2024)
- Cooling Degree Days 3,967 (2024)
- Total fisheries production 232,299 metric tons (2024)
- Capture fisheries production 78,795 metric tons (2024)
- Aquaculture production 153,504 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste 0.1027 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using improved drinking water sources in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- People using improved drinking water sources in Lao People's Democratic Republic was 321,392 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 Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- The highest recorded value was 1.45 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people using improved drinking water sources recorded in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- The lowest recorded value was 321,392 people in 2024.
- How does Lao People's Democratic Republic rank for people using improved drinking water sources?
- Lao People's Democratic Republic ranks 68th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Lao People's Democratic Republic?
- Over the last ten years it is down 64.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lao People's Democratic Republic 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.