People using at least a basic drinking water source in Romania
Romania: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 19.02 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Romania, 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 Romania is 19.02 million people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and down 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in Romania peaked at 22.05 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 19.02 million people, in 2024.
Romania ranks 60th of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Romania, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 22.05 million people | — |
| 2001 | 21.92 million people | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 21.77 million people | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 21.59 million people | -0.8% |
| 2004 | 21.40 million people | -0.9% |
| 2005 | 21.21 million people | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 21.04 million people | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 20.87 million people | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 20.72 million people | -0.7% |
| 2009 | 20.58 million people | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 20.43 million people | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 20.28 million people | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 20.16 million people | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 20.06 million people | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 19.97 million people | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 19.87 million people | -0.5% |
| 2016 | 19.78 million people | -0.5% |
| 2017 | 19.69 million people | -0.4% |
| 2018 | 19.60 million people | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 19.50 million people | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 19.39 million people | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 19.25 million people | -0.7% |
| 2022 | 19.17 million people | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 19.12 million people | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 19.02 million people | -0.5% |
Romania compared with similar countries
- Romania's 19.02 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.05 million people, 6.2× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Romania's 19.02 million people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6.20 million people, 3.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 21.31 million people | 20.58 million people | 22.05 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.93 million people | 19.50 million people | 20.43 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.19 million people | 19.02 million people | 19.39 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Romania
- 57 Cameroon 20.80 million people compare
- 58 Kazakhstan 20.15 million people compare
- 59 Chile 19.48 million people compare
- 61 Netherlands 18.23 million people compare
- 62 Madagascar 17.69 million people compare
- 63 Guatemala 17.15 million people compare
More environment data for Romania
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.2 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.634 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.03 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.5647 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- 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 -0.1112 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in Romania?
- People using at least a basic drinking water source in Romania was 19.02 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 Romania?
- The highest recorded value was 22.05 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Romania?
- The lowest recorded value was 19.02 million people in 2024.
- How does Romania rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
- Romania ranks 60th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Romania?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Romania 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.