Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Nepal

Nepal: Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source was 93.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
93.6%
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
154th
of 231 countries
All-time high
93.6%
in 2024
All-time low
79.5%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0204060801002000201220242000: 79.5 %2001: 80.2 %2002: 80.8 %2003: 81.4 %2004: 82.1 %2005: 82.7 %2006: 83.3 %2007: 83.9 %2008: 84.6 %2009: 85.2 %2010: 85.8 %2011: 86.4 %2012: 87 %2013: 87.5 %2014: 88.1 %2015: 88.7 %2016: 89.3 %2017: 89.8 %2018: 90.4 %2019: 91 %2020: 91.5 %2021: 92.1 %2022: 92.6 %2023: 93.1 %2024: 93.6 %

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 Nepal stood at 93.6%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 6.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Nepal peaked at 93.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 79.5%, in 2000.

That places Nepal 154th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 82.4% 79.5% 85.2% 10
2010s 88.4% 85.8% 91.0% 10
2020s 92.6% 91.5% 93.6% 5

Countries ranked near Nepal

  1. 151 French Guiana 94.8% compare
  2. 152 Syria 94.1% compare
  3. 153 North Korea 93.9% compare
  4. 155 Ukraine 93.5% compare
  5. 156 Bolivia 93.4% compare
  6. 157 Venezuela 93.3% compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Nepal

All data for Nepal →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Nepal?
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Nepal was 93.6% 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 Nepal?
The highest recorded value was 93.6% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Nepal?
The lowest recorded value was 79.5% in 2000.
How does Nepal rank for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source?
Nepal ranks 154th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Nepal?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nepal 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.