Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: 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 Sri Lanka, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sri Lanka recorded 90.2% 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 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Sri Lanka peaked at 90.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 83.7%, in 2000.
That places Sri Lanka 169th 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.
Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 83.7% | — |
| 2001 | 83.9% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 84.2% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 84.5% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 84.8% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 85.0% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 85.3% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 85.6% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 85.9% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 86.1% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 86.4% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 86.7% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 87.0% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 87.3% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 87.6% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 87.8% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 88.1% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 88.4% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 88.7% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 89.0% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 89.3% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 89.6% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 89.9% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 90.2% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 90.2% | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 90.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.7%, 93% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 90.2% is below the median for South Asia, which is 97.3%, 93% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 84.9% | 83.7% | 86.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 87.7% | 86.4% | 89.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 89.8% | 89.3% | 90.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.849 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 5.63 % 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 1.22 % 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 Sri Lanka?
- Share of population using at least a basic drinking water source in Sri Lanka 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 90.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of population using at least a basic drinking water source recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 83.7% in 2000.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for share of population using at least a basic drinking water source?
- Sri Lanka ranks 169th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population using at least a basic drinking water source rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.