Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in North Korea
North Korea: Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source was 93.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in North Korea, 2000–2023
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 North Korea is 93.9%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 2.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in North Korea peaked at 99.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 93.8%, in 2019.
North Korea ranks 153rd of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 98.7% | 97.4% | 99.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 95.4% | 93.8% | 97.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 93.9% | 93.8% | 93.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near North Korea
More environment data for North Korea
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 91.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.44 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 3.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 10.95 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0937 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 20.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.003 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.014 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.46 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in North Korea?
- Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in North Korea was 93.9% in 2023, 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 North Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 99.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in North Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 93.8% in 2019.
- How does North Korea rank for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source?
- North Korea ranks 153rd out of 231 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in North Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North Korea 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 — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
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.