People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: People not using safely managed drinking water sources was 12.40 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
12.40 million people
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
31st
of 163 countries
All-time high
12.40 million people
in 2024
All-time low
8.40 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Zimbabwe, 2000–2024

02.5M5.0M7.5M10.0M12.5M2000201220242000: 8.4M people2001: 8.4M people2002: 8.5M people2003: 8.6M people2004: 8.7M people2005: 8.8M people2006: 8.9M people2007: 9.1M people2008: 9.2M people2009: 9.4M people2010: 9.6M people2011: 9.8M people2012: 10.0M people2013: 10.1M people2014: 10.3M people2015: 10.5M people2016: 10.7M people2017: 10.8M people2018: 11.0M people2019: 11.2M people2020: 11.5M people2021: 11.7M people2022: 11.9M people2023: 12.2M people2024: 12.4M people

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

Analysis

In 2024, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Zimbabwe stood at 12.40 million people. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 20.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Zimbabwe peaked at 12.40 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.40 million people, in 2000.

Zimbabwe ranks 31st of 163 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 8.79 million people 8.40 million people 9.37 million people 10
2010s 10.40 million people 9.55 million people 11.24 million people 10
2020s 11.92 million people 11.46 million people 12.40 million people 5

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 28 Algeria 14.50 million people compare
  2. 29 Colombia 13.57 million people compare
  3. 30 Senegal 13.47 million people compare
  4. 32 Cambodia 12.35 million people compare
  5. 33 Sri Lanka 12.26 million people compare
  6. 34 Benin 11.90 million people compare

See the full ranking of 163 places →

More environment data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is people not using safely managed drinking water sources in Zimbabwe?
People not using safely managed drinking water sources in Zimbabwe was 12.40 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 safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was 12.40 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people not using safely managed drinking water sources recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was 8.40 million people in 2000.
How does Zimbabwe rank for people not using safely managed drinking water sources?
Zimbabwe ranks 31st out of 163 countries with data for 2024.
Is people not using safely managed drinking water sources rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Zimbabwe 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 — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
People not using safely managed 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
163 places, 3,991 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.