People using at least a basic drinking water source in Congo

Congo: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 4.33 million people in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
4.33 million people
Change on year
up 2.7%
World rank
124th
of 231 countries
All-time high
4.33 million people
in 2021
All-time low
1.84 million people
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2021

People using at least a basic drinking water source in Congo, 2000–2021

01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M2000201020212000: 1.8M people2001: 1.9M people2002: 2.0M people2003: 2.1M people2004: 2.2M people2005: 2.3M people2006: 2.4M people2007: 2.5M people2008: 2.6M people2009: 2.8M people2010: 3.0M people2011: 3.1M people2012: 3.2M people2013: 3.4M people2014: 3.5M people2015: 3.6M people2016: 3.7M people2017: 3.9M people2018: 4.0M people2019: 4.1M people2020: 4.2M people2021: 4.3M people

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for people using at least a basic drinking water source in Congo is 4.33 million people, measured in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.

The figure is up 2.7% on the previous year and up 39.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in Congo peaked at 4.33 million people in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.84 million people, in 2000.

Congo ranks 124th of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 2.26 million people 1.84 million people 2.80 million people 10
2010s 3.55 million people 2.96 million people 4.11 million people 10
2020s 4.27 million people 4.22 million people 4.33 million people 2

Countries ranked near Congo

  1. 121 Oman 4.89 million people compare
  2. 122 South Sudan 4.75 million people compare
  3. 123 Liberia 4.42 million people compare
  4. 125 Panama 4.30 million people compare
  5. 126 Mauritania 4.00 million people compare
  6. 127 Croatia 3.87 million people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Congo

All data for Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in Congo?
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Congo was 4.33 million people in 2021, 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 using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Congo?
The highest recorded value was 4.33 million people in 2021.
What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 1.84 million people in 2000.
How does Congo rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
Congo ranks 124th out of 231 countries with data for 2021.
Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 39.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Congo 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 using at least a basic drinking water source. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
People using at least a basic drinking water source
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 using an improved drinking water source, which is either available on premises, or collection time is no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.