People not using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea
Eritrea: People not using improved drinking water sources was 954,690 people in 2016. ▲ Rising
People not using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea, 2000–2016
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Eritrea recorded 954,690 people for people not using improved drinking water sources in 2016.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and up 12.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea peaked at 964,401 people in 2013 and was at its lowest, 704,093 people, in 2000.
Eritrea ranks 56th of 231 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
People not using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 704,093 people | — |
| 2001 | 725,475 people | +3.0% |
| 2002 | 751,541 people | +3.6% |
| 2003 | 783,588 people | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 816,367 people | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 835,747 people | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 848,218 people | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 859,473 people | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 880,701 people | +2.5% |
| 2009 | 906,040 people | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 926,827 people | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 946,229 people | +2.1% |
| 2012 | 960,818 people | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 964,401 people | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 962,578 people | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 957,355 people | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 954,690 people | -0.3% |
Eritrea compared with similar countries
- Eritrea's 954,690 people is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.67 million people, 36% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Eritrea's 954,690 people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.99 million people, 48% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 811,124 people | 704,093 people | 906,040 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 953,271 people | 926,827 people | 964,401 people | 7 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
More environment data for Eritrea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -12.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.14 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 57.1 % change on previous year (2023)
- Standard Deviation 0.531 °C (2023)
- Temperature change 0.012 °C (2023)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6471 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
- 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 0.3665 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people not using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea?
- People not using improved drinking water sources in Eritrea was 954,690 people in 2016, 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 Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 964,401 people in 2013.
- What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 704,093 people in 2000.
- How does Eritrea rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
- Eritrea ranks 56th out of 231 countries with data for 2016.
- Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eritrea 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 — 17 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.