People not using improved drinking water sources in Ghana

Ghana: People not using improved drinking water sources was 1.93 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
1.93 million people
Change on year
down 9.1%
World rank
38th
of 231 countries
All-time high
4.74 million people
in 2000
All-time low
1.93 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People not using improved drinking water sources in Ghana, 2000–2024

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M2000201220242000: 4.7M people2001: 4.7M people2002: 4.6M people2003: 4.6M people2004: 4.5M people2005: 4.5M people2006: 4.4M people2007: 4.3M people2008: 4.2M people2009: 4.1M people2010: 4.0M people2011: 3.9M people2012: 3.8M people2013: 3.7M people2014: 3.6M people2015: 3.4M people2016: 3.3M people2017: 3.2M people2018: 3.0M people2019: 2.8M people2020: 2.7M people2021: 2.5M people2022: 2.3M people2023: 2.1M people2024: 1.9M people

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for people not using improved drinking water sources in Ghana is 1.93 million people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.1% on the previous year and down 46.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Ghana peaked at 4.74 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.93 million people, in 2024.

That places Ghana 38th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.47 million people 4.14 million people 4.74 million people 10
2010s 3.48 million people 2.83 million people 4.04 million people 10
2020s 2.30 million people 1.93 million people 2.66 million people 5

Countries ranked near Ghana

  1. 35 Guinea 2.03 million people compare
  2. 36 Sri Lanka 1.97 million people compare
  3. 37 Central African Republic 1.96 million people compare
  4. 39 Burundi 1.92 million people compare
  5. 40 Haiti 1.83 million people compare
  6. 41 Venezuela 1.76 million people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Ghana

All data for Ghana →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using improved drinking water sources in Ghana?
People not using improved drinking water sources in Ghana was 1.93 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 Ghana?
The highest recorded value was 4.74 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Ghana?
The lowest recorded value was 1.93 million people in 2024.
How does Ghana rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
Ghana ranks 38th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Ghana?
Over the last ten years it is down 46.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Ghana 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

Indicator
People not using improved drinking water sources
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
231 places, 5,586 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.