Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in South Africa
South Africa: Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source was 90.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in South Africa, 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 South Africa stood at 90.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in South Africa peaked at 92.5% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 86.0%, in 2000.
South Africa ranks 170th of 231 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 88.2% | 86.0% | 90.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 91.7% | 90.8% | 92.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.7% | 90.2% | 91.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
More environment data for South Africa
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 569.81 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 8.9 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 25.85 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.31 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 40 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.1686 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 93.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.055 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.1946 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 25.44 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in South Africa?
- Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in South Africa was 90.2% 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 92.5% in 2014.
- What is the lowest share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 86.0% in 2000.
- How does South Africa rank for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source?
- South Africa ranks 170th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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.