Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source was 53.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2024
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 Papua New Guinea is 53.3%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 24.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Papua New Guinea peaked at 53.3% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 29.7%, in 2004.
Papua New Guinea ranks 225th 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 Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 29.8% | — |
| 2001 | 29.8% | -0.0% |
| 2002 | 29.7% | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 29.7% | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 29.7% | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 31.2% | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 32.7% | +4.7% |
| 2007 | 34.1% | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 35.6% | +4.3% |
| 2009 | 36.9% | +3.5% |
| 2010 | 38.1% | +3.3% |
| 2011 | 39.3% | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 40.5% | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 41.6% | +2.9% |
| 2014 | 42.8% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 43.9% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 45.0% | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 46.1% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 47.2% | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 48.3% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 49.3% | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 50.4% | +2.1% |
| 2022 | 51.4% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 52.3% | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 53.3% | +1.8% |
Papua New Guinea compared with similar countries
- Papua New Guinea's 53.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.4%, 62% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Papua New Guinea's 53.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.7%, 54% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.9% | 29.7% | 36.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 43.3% | 38.1% | 48.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.3% | 49.3% | 53.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More environment data for Papua New Guinea
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 1.56 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.183 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.834 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9266 % 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 0.6032 % 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 Papua New Guinea?
- Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Papua New Guinea was 53.3% 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 Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 53.3% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 29.7% in 2004.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 225th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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
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.