People not using improved drinking water sources in Zambia
Zambia: People not using improved drinking water sources was 4.16 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People not using improved drinking water sources in Zambia, 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
Zambia recorded 4.16 million 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 2.8% on the previous year and down 16.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using improved drinking water sources in Zambia peaked at 5.12 million people in 2009 and was at its lowest, 4.16 million people, in 2024.
Zambia ranks 21st 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.07 million people | 5.01 million people | 5.12 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.96 million people | 4.70 million people | 5.12 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.40 million people | 4.16 million people | 4.61 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 18 Cote d'Ivoire 5.04 million people compare
- 19 Burkina Faso 4.30 million people compare
- 20 Papua New Guinea 4.17 million people compare
- 22 Cameroon 3.99 million people compare
- 23 Poland 3.81 million people compare
- 24 Yemen 3.71 million people compare
More environment data for Zambia
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 38.52 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.81 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 6.39 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 8.56 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0539 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.28 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0026 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0155 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.04 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people not using improved drinking water sources in Zambia?
- People not using improved drinking water sources in Zambia was 4.16 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 5.12 million people in 2009.
- What is the lowest people not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.16 million people in 2024.
- How does Zambia rank for people not using improved drinking water sources?
- Zambia ranks 21st out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zambia 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.