People using at least a basic drinking water source in Eritrea
Eritrea: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 1.62 million people in 2016. ▲ Rising
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Eritrea, 2000–2016
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 Eritrea is 1.62 million people, measured in 2016. That is the highest value across all 17 years on record.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 22.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in Eritrea peaked at 1.62 million people in 2016 and was at its lowest, 1.05 million people, in 2000.
That places Eritrea 148th out of 231 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 17 years of available data.
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Eritrea, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.05 million people | — |
| 2001 | 1.09 million people | +3.6% |
| 2002 | 1.14 million people | +4.2% |
| 2003 | 1.19 million people | +5.0% |
| 2004 | 1.25 million people | +4.9% |
| 2005 | 1.29 million people | +3.2% |
| 2006 | 1.32 million people | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 1.35 million people | +2.3% |
| 2008 | 1.40 million people | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 1.44 million people | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 1.47 million people | +2.3% |
| 2011 | 1.50 million people | +2.2% |
| 2012 | 1.53 million people | +1.6% |
| 2013 | 1.56 million people | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 1.58 million people | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 1.60 million people | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 1.62 million people | +1.4% |
Eritrea compared with similar countries
- Eritrea's 1.62 million people is below the median for low income countries, which is 14.44 million people, 11% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Eritrea's 1.62 million people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.33 million people, 16% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.25 million people | 1.05 million people | 1.44 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.55 million people | 1.47 million people | 1.62 million people | 7 |
Countries ranked near Eritrea
- 145 Latvia 1.85 million people compare
- 146 Lesotho 1.83 million people compare
- 147 North Macedonia 1.79 million people compare
- 149 Bahrain 1.61 million people compare
- 150 Trinidad and Tobago 1.50 million people compare
- 151 Guinea-Bissau 1.36 million people compare
More environment data for Eritrea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -12.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -10.14 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 57.1 % change on previous year (2023)
- Standard Deviation 0.531 °C (2023)
- Temperature change 0.012 °C (2023)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6471 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
- 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 0.3665 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2011)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in Eritrea?
- People using at least a basic drinking water source in Eritrea was 1.62 million people in 2016, 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 Eritrea?
- The highest recorded value was 1.62 million people in 2016.
- What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Eritrea?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.05 million people in 2000.
- How does Eritrea rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
- Eritrea ranks 148th out of 231 countries with data for 2016.
- Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Eritrea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eritrea 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 — 17 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.