People not using improved drinking water sources in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: People not using improved drinking water sources was 1.97 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People not using improved drinking water sources in Sri Lanka, 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
The most recent figure for people not using improved drinking water sources in Sri Lanka is 1.97 million people, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 16.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.79 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.97 million people, in 2023.
That places Sri Lanka 36th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.68 million people | 2.53 million people | 2.79 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.33 million people | 2.16 million people | 2.49 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.03 million people | 1.97 million people | 2.11 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 37.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.7 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.6851 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0046 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0737 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 11.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0632 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.72 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people not using improved drinking water sources in Sri Lanka?
- People not using improved drinking water sources in Sri Lanka was 1.97 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.79 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.97 million people in 2023.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
- Sri Lanka ranks 36th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.