People using at least a basic drinking water source in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 69.14 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People using at least a basic drinking water source in United Kingdom, 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
United Kingdom recorded 69.14 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.
The figure is up 0.7% on the previous year and up 6.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in United Kingdom peaked at 69.14 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 59.06 million people, in 2000.
That places United Kingdom 20th 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 | 60.56 million people | 59.06 million people | 62.51 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.12 million people | 63.01 million people | 67.11 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 68.20 million people | 67.35 million people | 69.14 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More environment data for United Kingdom
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 386.7 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.58 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 31.55 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7351 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.35 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.078 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 58.88 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.3113 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1931 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 22.62 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in United Kingdom?
- People using at least a basic drinking water source in United Kingdom was 69.14 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 69.14 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.06 million people in 2000.
- How does United Kingdom rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
- United Kingdom ranks 20th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.