Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source was 35.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
35.7%
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
231st
of 231 countries
All-time high
37.5%
in 2000
All-time low
35.1%
in 2022
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024

0102030402000201220242000: 37.5 %2001: 37.5 %2002: 37.5 %2003: 37.4 %2004: 37.4 %2005: 37.3 %2006: 37.3 %2007: 37.2 %2008: 37.1 %2009: 37 %2010: 36.9 %2011: 36.8 %2012: 36.7 %2013: 36.6 %2014: 36.4 %2015: 36.3 %2016: 36.2 %2017: 36 %2018: 35.9 %2019: 35.7 %2020: 35.5 %2021: 35.3 %2022: 35.1 %2023: 35.4 %2024: 35.7 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Democratic Republic of Congo is 35.7%, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and down 2.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 37.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 35.1%, in 2022.

That places Democratic Republic of Congo 231st out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 37.3% 37.0% 37.5% 10
2010s 36.3% 35.7% 36.9% 10
2020s 35.4% 35.1% 35.7% 5

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 228 Burkina Faso 50.0% compare
  2. 229 South Sudan 39.7% compare
  3. 230 Central African Republic 36.5% compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Democratic Republic of Congo was 35.7% 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 share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 37.5% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 35.1% in 2022.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 231st out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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 Share of population 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

Indicator
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
231 places, 5,586 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people who use an improved drinking water source, which is either located on their premises, or at a collection point, which takes no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.