People not using improved drinking water sources in Namibia

Namibia: People not using improved drinking water sources was 197,887 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
197,887 people
Change on year
down 2.3%
World rank
83rd
of 231 countries
All-time high
297,513 people
in 2000
All-time low
197,887 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0100.0k200.0k300.0k2000201220242000: 297.5k people2001: 296.2k people2002: 292.5k people2003: 287.5k people2004: 281.9k people2005: 276.1k people2006: 270.4k people2007: 264.7k people2008: 259.2k people2009: 253.7k people2010: 248.4k people2011: 243.4k people2012: 239.5k people2013: 236.3k people2014: 233.0k people2015: 229.7k people2016: 226.3k people2017: 223.0k people2018: 219.7k people2019: 216.4k people2020: 213.3k people2021: 210.2k people2022: 206.7k people2023: 202.6k people2024: 197.9k people

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

Analysis

Namibia recorded 197,887 people for people not using improved drinking water sources in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.3% on the previous year and down 15.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Namibia peaked at 297,513 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 197,887 people, in 2024.

Namibia ranks 83rd of 231 countries on this measure, 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 277,972 people 253,738 people 297,513 people 10
2010s 231,592 people 216,432 people 248,422 people 10
2020s 206,130 people 197,887 people 213,308 people 5

Countries ranked near Namibia

  1. 80 Dominican Republic 239,094 people compare
  2. 81 Iran 234,152 people compare
  3. 82 Kyrgyzstan 201,464 people compare
  4. 84 Gambia 192,819 people compare
  5. 85 Solomon Islands 182,166 people compare
  6. 86 Chile 180,633 people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Namibia

All data for Namibia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using improved drinking water sources in Namibia?
People not using improved drinking water sources in Namibia was 197,887 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 Namibia?
The highest recorded value was 297,513 people in 2000.
What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Namibia?
The lowest recorded value was 197,887 people in 2024.
How does Namibia rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
Namibia ranks 83rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Namibia?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Namibia 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.