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.
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in South Africa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 86.0% | — |
| 2001 | 86.5% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 87.0% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 87.5% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 88.0% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 88.5% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 89.0% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 89.4% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 89.9% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 90.3% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 90.8% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 91.2% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 91.7% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 92.1% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 92.5% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 92.3% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 92.1% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 91.8% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 91.6% | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 91.4% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 91.2% | -0.3% |
| 2021 | 90.9% | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 90.7% | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 90.4% | -0.3% |
| 2024 | 90.2% | -0.3% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 90.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.7%, 93% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 90.2% 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 | 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
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.59 % 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 0.2953 % 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 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.