People using at least a basic drinking water source in Zambia
Zambia: People using at least a basic drinking water source was 15.65 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People using at least a basic drinking water source in Zambia, 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 Zambia is 15.65 million people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.3% on the previous year and up 57.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least a basic drinking water source in Zambia peaked at 15.65 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 4.63 million people, in 2000.
Zambia ranks 67th of 231 countries on this measure, 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 | 6.03 million people | 4.63 million people | 7.68 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.27 million people | 8.11 million people | 12.60 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.39 million people | 13.18 million people | 15.65 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More environment data for Zambia
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 38.52 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.81 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 6.39 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 8.56 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0539 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.28 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0026 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0155 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.04 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least a basic drinking water source in Zambia?
- People using at least a basic drinking water source in Zambia was 15.65 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.65 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest people using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.63 million people in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for people using at least a basic drinking water source?
- Zambia ranks 67th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 57.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.