People not using safely managed drinking water sources in South Korea
South Korea: People not using safely managed drinking water sources was 370,986 people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in South Korea, 2002–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
South Korea recorded 370,986 people for people not using safely managed drinking water sources in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
The figure is down 2.8% on the previous year and down 54.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in South Korea peaked at 1.33 million people in 2006 and was at its lowest, 370,986 people, in 2024.
That places South Korea 86th out of 163 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in South Korea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 1.31 million people | — |
| 2003 | 1.32 million people | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 1.32 million people | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 1.33 million people | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 1.33 million people | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 1.26 million people | -4.9% |
| 2008 | 1.20 million people | -5.2% |
| 2009 | 1.13 million people | -5.5% |
| 2010 | 1.07 million people | -5.8% |
| 2011 | 1.00 million people | -6.0% |
| 2012 | 940,523 people | -6.3% |
| 2013 | 876,387 people | -6.8% |
| 2014 | 810,756 people | -7.5% |
| 2015 | 752,448 people | -7.2% |
| 2016 | 709,772 people | -5.7% |
| 2017 | 664,880 people | -6.3% |
| 2018 | 619,224 people | -6.9% |
| 2019 | 572,957 people | -7.5% |
| 2020 | 526,070 people | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 478,072 people | -9.1% |
| 2022 | 429,614 people | -10.1% |
| 2023 | 381,498 people | -11.2% |
| 2024 | 370,986 people | -2.8% |
South Korea compared with similar countries
- South Korea's 370,986 people is above the median for high income countries, which is 30,638 people, 12.1× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- South Korea's 370,986 people is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 97,987 people, 3.8× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.27 million people | 1.13 million people | 1.33 million people | 8 |
| 2010s | 801,717 people | 572,957 people | 1.07 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 437,248 people | 370,986 people | 526,070 people | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
- 83 Bosnia and Herzegovina 430,335 people compare
- 84 Chile 429,142 people compare
- 85 Turkmenistan 385,701 people compare
- 87 North Macedonia 350,190 people compare
- 88 Greece 332,969 people compare
- 89 Switzerland 294,426 people compare
More environment data for South Korea
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.2791 % 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 -2.27 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual -0.2415 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 1.61 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people not using safely managed drinking water sources in South Korea?
- People not using safely managed drinking water sources in South Korea was 370,986 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 safely managed drinking water sources recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.33 million people in 2006.
- What is the lowest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 370,986 people in 2024.
- How does South Korea rank for people not using safely managed drinking water sources?
- South Korea ranks 86th out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people not using safely managed drinking water sources rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 54.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this South Korea 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 safely managed drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
People not using safely managed drinking water sources either use unimproved drinking water sources or the improved sources they use are not located on their premises, not available when needed, or not free of contamination.