People with access to at least basic drinking water in South Africa
South Africa: People with access to at least basic drinking water was 57.73 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
People with access to at least basic drinking water in South Africa, 2000–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
South Africa recorded 57.73 million for people with access to at least basic drinking water in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people with access to at least basic drinking water in South Africa peaked at 57.73 million in 2024 and was at its lowest, 40.54 million, in 2000.
That places South Africa 23rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 43.51 million | 40.54 million | 46.74 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 51.31 million | 47.53 million | 54.46 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 56.52 million | 55.21 million | 57.73 million | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More environment data for South Africa
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 569.81 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 8.9 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 25.85 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.31 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 40 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1686 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 93.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.055 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1946 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 25.44 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people with access to at least basic drinking water in South Africa?
- People with access to at least basic drinking water in South Africa was 57.73 million in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest people with access to at least basic drinking water recorded in South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 57.73 million in 2024.
- What is the lowest people with access to at least basic drinking water recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.54 million in 2000.
- How does South Africa rank for people with access to at least basic drinking water?
- South Africa ranks 23rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people with access to at least basic drinking water rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of People with access to at least basic drinking water. 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).