Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Namibia
Namibia: Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source was 86.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Namibia, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Namibia recorded 86.5% for share of population 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 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Namibia peaked at 86.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 76.2%, in 2000.
Namibia ranks 183rd of 231 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
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 Namibia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 76.2% | — |
| 2001 | 76.6% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 77.1% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 77.6% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 78.1% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 78.5% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 79.0% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 79.5% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 79.9% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 80.4% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 80.8% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 81.3% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 81.7% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 82.1% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 82.6% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 83.0% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 83.4% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 83.8% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 84.1% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 84.6% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 85.0% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 85.4% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 85.8% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 86.1% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 86.5% | +0.4% |
Namibia compared with similar countries
- Namibia's 86.5% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.4%, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Namibia's 86.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 72.2%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 78.3% | 76.2% | 80.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 82.7% | 80.8% | 84.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.8% | 85.0% | 86.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Namibia
More environment data for Namibia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.99 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.14 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.319 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.979 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.32 % 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 4.07 % 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 Namibia?
- Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Namibia was 86.5% 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 Namibia?
- The highest recorded value was 86.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Namibia?
- The lowest recorded value was 76.2% in 2000.
- How does Namibia rank for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source?
- Namibia ranks 183rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Namibia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Namibia 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.