People not using improved drinking water sources in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: People not using improved drinking water sources was 4.17 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People not using improved drinking water sources in Papua New Guinea, 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
Papua New Guinea recorded 4.17 million people for people not using improved drinking water sources in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.0% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Papua New Guinea peaked at 4.67 million people in 2013 and was at its lowest, 3.86 million people, in 2000.
That places Papua New Guinea 20th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
People not using improved drinking water sources in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3.86 million people | — |
| 2001 | 3.99 million people | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 4.13 million people | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 4.27 million people | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 4.41 million people | +3.4% |
| 2005 | 4.46 million people | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 4.51 million people | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 4.55 million people | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 4.58 million people | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 4.61 million people | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 4.64 million people | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 4.66 million people | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 4.67 million people | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 4.67 million people | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 4.67 million people | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 4.66 million people | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 4.64 million people | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 4.61 million people | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 4.57 million people | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 4.53 million people | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 4.48 million people | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 4.41 million people | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 4.34 million people | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 4.26 million people | -1.9% |
| 2024 | 4.17 million people | -2.0% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 4.17 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 912,712 people, 4.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 4.17 million people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 8,111 people, 514.3× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.34 million people | 3.86 million people | 4.61 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.63 million people | 4.53 million people | 4.67 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.33 million people | 4.17 million people | 4.48 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
- 17 Afghanistan 6.49 million people compare
- 18 Cote d'Ivoire 5.04 million people compare
- 19 Burkina Faso 4.30 million people compare
- 21 Zambia 4.16 million people compare
- 22 Cameroon 3.99 million people compare
- 23 Poland 3.81 million people compare
More environment data for Papua New Guinea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 1.56 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.183 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.834 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9266 % 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 0.6032 % 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 Papua New Guinea?
- People not using improved drinking water sources in Papua New Guinea was 4.17 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 4.67 million people in 2013.
- What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.86 million people in 2000.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 20th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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
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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.