Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in El Salvador
El Salvador: Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source was 91.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in El Salvador, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in El Salvador stood at 91.6%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in El Salvador peaked at 91.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 82.3%, in 2010.
That places El Salvador 167th 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.
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in El Salvador, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 85.7% | — |
| 2001 | 85.9% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 86.6% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 87.4% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 87.9% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 87.5% | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 87.1% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 84.8% | -2.6% |
| 2008 | 82.7% | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 82.4% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 82.3% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 83.1% | +1.1% |
| 2012 | 84.0% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 84.8% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 85.6% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 86.4% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 87.2% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 87.9% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 88.6% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 89.4% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 90.0% | +0.7% |
| 2021 | 90.4% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 90.8% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 91.2% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 91.6% | +0.5% |
El Salvador compared with similar countries
- El Salvador's 91.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.7%, 95% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- El Salvador's 91.6% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 98.0%, 93% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 85.8% | 82.4% | 87.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.9% | 82.3% | 89.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.8% | 90.0% | 91.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near El Salvador
More environment data for El Salvador
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.31 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.1 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.27 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.58 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0446 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in El Salvador?
- Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in El Salvador was 91.6% 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 El Salvador?
- The highest recorded value was 91.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in El Salvador?
- The lowest recorded value was 82.3% in 2010.
- How does El Salvador rank for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source?
- El Salvador ranks 167th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in El Salvador?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this El Salvador 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
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About this data
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.