People not using improved drinking water sources in Malaysia
Malaysia: People not using improved drinking water sources was 605,505 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People not using improved drinking water sources in Malaysia, 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
In 2024, people not using improved drinking water sources in Malaysia stood at 605,505 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 1.6% on the previous year and down 13.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Malaysia peaked at 803,570 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 605,505 people, in 2024.
That places Malaysia 66th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People not using improved drinking water sources in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 803,570 people | — |
| 2001 | 798,294 people | -0.7% |
| 2002 | 793,045 people | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 787,280 people | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 780,996 people | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 774,349 people | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 767,335 people | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 759,884 people | -1.0% |
| 2008 | 751,833 people | -1.1% |
| 2009 | 743,060 people | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 733,438 people | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 724,730 people | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 715,993 people | -1.2% |
| 2013 | 707,368 people | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 698,808 people | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 690,450 people | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 682,368 people | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 674,452 people | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 666,279 people | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 657,584 people | -1.3% |
| 2020 | 647,372 people | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 636,230 people | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 625,634 people | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 615,498 people | -1.6% |
| 2024 | 605,505 people | -1.6% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 605,505 people is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61,603 people, 9.8× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 605,505 people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8,111 people, 74.6× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 775,965 people | 743,060 people | 803,570 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 695,147 people | 657,584 people | 733,438 people | 10 |
| 2020s | 626,048 people | 605,505 people | 647,372 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More environment data for Malaysia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.65 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.9 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.179 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.25 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.33 % 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 0.9114 % 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 Malaysia?
- People not using improved drinking water sources in Malaysia was 605,505 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 803,570 people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 605,505 people in 2024.
- How does Malaysia rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
- Malaysia ranks 66th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia 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.