People not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: People not using improved drinking water sources was 6.49 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan, 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
Afghanistan recorded 6.49 million people for people not 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 8.0% on the previous year and down 47.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan peaked at 14.30 million people in 2003 and was at its lowest, 6.49 million people, in 2024.
Afghanistan ranks 17th of 231 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 13.59 million people | — |
| 2001 | 13.69 million people | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 13.94 million people | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 14.30 million people | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 14.28 million people | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 14.22 million people | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 14.23 million people | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 13.90 million people | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 13.59 million people | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 13.45 million people | -1.0% |
| 2010 | 13.20 million people | -1.9% |
| 2011 | 13.02 million people | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 12.85 million people | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 12.56 million people | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 12.27 million people | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 11.87 million people | -3.2% |
| 2016 | 11.38 million people | -4.2% |
| 2017 | 10.88 million people | -4.4% |
| 2018 | 10.35 million people | -4.9% |
| 2019 | 9.79 million people | -5.4% |
| 2020 | 9.20 million people | -6.0% |
| 2021 | 8.49 million people | -7.7% |
| 2022 | 7.67 million people | -9.6% |
| 2023 | 7.05 million people | -8.1% |
| 2024 | 6.49 million people | -8.0% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 6.49 million people is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.67 million people, 2.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 6.49 million people is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 55,032 people, 117.9× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.92 million people | 13.45 million people | 14.30 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.82 million people | 9.79 million people | 13.20 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.78 million people | 6.49 million people | 9.20 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
- 14 Myanmar 7.41 million people compare
- 15 Chad 7.15 million people compare
- 16 Uganda 6.95 million people compare
- 18 Cote d'Ivoire 5.04 million people compare
- 19 Burkina Faso 4.30 million people compare
- 20 Papua New Guinea 4.17 million people compare
More environment data for Afghanistan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -19.95 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -17.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.547 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.96 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.85 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.7636 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan?
- People not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan was 6.49 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 not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 14.30 million people in 2003.
- What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.49 million people in 2024.
- How does Afghanistan rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
- Afghanistan ranks 17th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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 not 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 not using improved drinking water sources. These people might use surface water sources or unprotected springs or wells, as no safe and reliable improved drinking water source is available to them.