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.
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 668.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 12.91 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 21.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.3304 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.86 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1549 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 44.74 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.2523 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.2291 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 18.6 Mt CO2e (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.