People using at least a basic drinking water source in New Zealand
New Zealand: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 5.21 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People using at least a basic drinking water source in New Zealand, 2000–2024
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 New Zealand is 5.21 million people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in New Zealand peaked at 5.21 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 3.86 million people, in 2000.
That places New Zealand 117th out of 231 countries 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.09 million people | 3.86 million people | 4.30 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.62 million people | 4.35 million people | 4.99 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.14 million people | 5.07 million people | 5.21 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
- 114 Slovak Republic 5.49 million people compare
- 115 West Bank and Gaza 5.43 million people compare
- 116 Lebanon 5.38 million people compare
- 118 Costa Rica 5.12 million people compare
- 119 Ireland 5.10 million people compare
- 120 Kuwait 4.93 million people compare
More environment data for New Zealand
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 77.84 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 14.71 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 29.69 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0763 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.671 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0207 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 34.4 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0183 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0794 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 3.78 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in New Zealand?
- People using at least a basic drinking water source in New Zealand was 5.21 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 5.21 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.86 million people in 2000.
- How does New Zealand rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
- New Zealand ranks 117th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this New Zealand 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
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.