People using at least a basic drinking water source in Ireland

Ireland: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 5.10 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
5.10 million people
Change on year
up 1.1%
Rank
119th
of 231 regions
All-time high
5.10 million people
in 2024
All-time low
3.67 million people
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People using at least a basic drinking water source in Ireland, 2000–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M2000201220242000: 3.7M people2001: 3.7M people2002: 3.8M people2003: 3.9M people2004: 3.9M people2005: 4.0M people2006: 4.1M people2007: 4.3M people2008: 4.3M people2009: 4.4M people2010: 4.4M people2011: 4.4M people2012: 4.5M people2013: 4.5M people2014: 4.5M people2015: 4.6M people2016: 4.6M people2017: 4.7M people2018: 4.7M people2019: 4.8M people2020: 4.8M people2021: 4.9M people2022: 5.0M people2023: 5.0M people2024: 5.1M people

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

Analysis

Ireland recorded 5.10 million people for people using at least a basic drinking water source in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 13.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in Ireland peaked at 5.10 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.67 million people, in 2000.

That places Ireland 119th out of 231 regions with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.01 million people 3.67 million people 4.39 million people 10
2010s 4.56 million people 4.42 million people 4.79 million people 10
2020s 4.96 million people 4.83 million people 5.10 million people 5

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 116 Lebanon 5.38 million people compare
  2. 117 New Zealand 5.21 million people compare
  3. 118 Costa Rica 5.12 million people compare
  4. 120 Kuwait 4.93 million people compare
  5. 121 Oman 4.89 million people compare
  6. 122 South Sudan 4.75 million people compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in Ireland?
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Ireland was 5.10 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 using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 5.10 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 3.67 million people in 2000.
How does Ireland rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
Ireland ranks 119th out of 231 regions with data for 2024.
Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Ireland?
Over the last ten years it is up 13.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ireland 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 — 25 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.