People not using improved drinking water sources in Somalia

Somalia: People not using improved drinking water sources was 3.25 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
3.25 million people
Change on year
down 5.5%
World rank
27th
of 231 countries
All-time high
5.68 million people
in 2002
All-time low
3.25 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.0M4.0M6.0M2000201220242000: 5.6M people2001: 5.7M people2002: 5.7M people2003: 5.7M people2004: 5.7M people2005: 5.6M people2006: 5.5M people2007: 5.7M people2008: 5.5M people2009: 5.4M people2010: 5.2M people2011: 5.0M people2012: 4.8M people2013: 4.7M people2014: 4.6M people2015: 4.5M people2016: 4.4M people2017: 4.3M people2018: 4.2M people2019: 4.1M people2020: 4.0M people2021: 3.8M people2022: 3.6M people2023: 3.4M people2024: 3.2M 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 Somalia is 3.25 million people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is down 5.5% on the previous year and down 29.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Somalia peaked at 5.68 million people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 3.25 million people, in 2024.

Somalia ranks 27th of 231 countries on this measure, 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 5.60 million people 5.38 million people 5.68 million people 10
2010s 4.58 million people 4.09 million people 5.22 million people 10
2020s 3.62 million people 3.25 million people 3.96 million people 5

Countries ranked near Somalia

  1. 24 Yemen 3.71 million people compare
  2. 25 Russia 3.61 million people compare
  3. 26 Benin 3.32 million people compare
  4. 28 Sudan 3.20 million people compare
  5. 29 Zimbabwe 3.08 million people compare
  6. 30 South Sudan 2.67 million people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Somalia

All data for Somalia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using improved drinking water sources in Somalia?
People not using improved drinking water sources in Somalia was 3.25 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 Somalia?
The highest recorded value was 5.68 million people in 2002.
What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Somalia?
The lowest recorded value was 3.25 million people in 2024.
How does Somalia rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
Somalia ranks 27th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Somalia?
Over the last ten years it is down 29.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Somalia 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.