People using at least a basic drinking water source in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 5.88 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Sierra Leone, 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 Sierra Leone is 5.88 million people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.9% on the previous year and up 51.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in Sierra Leone peaked at 5.88 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.81 million people, in 2000.
That places Sierra Leone 108th 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 | 2.44 million people | 1.81 million people | 3.06 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.99 million people | 3.22 million people | 4.81 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.45 million people | 5.02 million people | 5.88 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More environment data for Sierra Leone
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 7.93 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.9174 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 2.62 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7175 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.45 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0007 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 5.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0004 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.005 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.7846 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in Sierra Leone?
- People using at least a basic drinking water source in Sierra Leone was 5.88 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 5.88 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.81 million people in 2000.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
- Sierra Leone ranks 108th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 51.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.