People not using improved drinking water sources in Malaysia

Malaysia: People not using improved drinking water sources was 605,505 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
605,505 people
Change on year
down 1.6%
World rank
66th
of 231 countries
All-time high
803,570 people
in 2000
All-time low
605,505 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k2000201220242000: 803.6k people2001: 798.3k people2002: 793.0k people2003: 787.3k people2004: 781.0k people2005: 774.3k people2006: 767.3k people2007: 759.9k people2008: 751.8k people2009: 743.1k people2010: 733.4k people2011: 724.7k people2012: 716.0k people2013: 707.4k people2014: 698.8k people2015: 690.5k people2016: 682.4k people2017: 674.5k people2018: 666.3k people2019: 657.6k people2020: 647.4k people2021: 636.2k people2022: 625.6k people2023: 615.5k people2024: 605.5k people

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 63 Ecuador 732,671 people compare
  2. 64 Liberia 698,874 people compare
  3. 65 Canada 679,492 people compare
  4. 67 Mexico 600,172 people compare
  5. 68 Mauritania 536,985 people compare
  6. 69 Guinea-Bissau 512,949 people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

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

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.