People not using improved drinking water sources in Tanzania

Tanzania: People not using improved drinking water sources was 15.46 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
15.46 million people
Change on year
down 4.0%
World rank
6th
of 231 countries
All-time high
21.79 million people
in 2001
All-time low
15.46 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M2000201220242000: 21.8M people2001: 21.8M people2002: 21.8M people2003: 21.7M people2004: 21.6M people2005: 21.5M people2006: 21.4M people2007: 21.3M people2008: 21.1M people2009: 20.9M people2010: 20.6M people2011: 20.4M people2012: 20.2M people2013: 20.0M people2014: 19.7M people2015: 19.5M people2016: 19.3M people2017: 19.0M people2018: 18.6M people2019: 18.2M people2020: 17.7M people2021: 17.2M people2022: 16.7M people2023: 16.1M people2024: 15.5M people

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

Analysis

Tanzania recorded 15.46 million people for people not using improved drinking water sources in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.0% on the previous year and down 21.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Tanzania peaked at 21.79 million people in 2001 and was at its lowest, 15.46 million people, in 2024.

Tanzania ranks 6th of 231 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 21.49 million people 20.89 million people 21.79 million people 10
2010s 19.56 million people 18.20 million people 20.65 million people 10
2020s 16.65 million people 15.46 million people 17.74 million people 5

Countries ranked near Tanzania

  1. 3 Nigeria 32.13 million people compare
  2. 4 India 28.01 million people compare
  3. 5 Ethiopia 22.06 million people compare
  4. 7 Kenya 14.46 million people compare
  5. 8 Indonesia 13.30 million people compare
  6. 9 Madagascar 12.67 million people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Tanzania

All data for Tanzania →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using improved drinking water sources in Tanzania?
People not using improved drinking water sources in Tanzania was 15.46 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 Tanzania?
The highest recorded value was 21.79 million people in 2001.
What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Tanzania?
The lowest recorded value was 15.46 million people in 2024.
How does Tanzania rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
Tanzania ranks 6th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Tanzania?
Over the last ten years it is down 21.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Tanzania 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.