Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 74.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Afghanistan, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 74.8% for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.4% on the previous year and up 47.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Afghanistan peaked at 74.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 22.0%, in 2000.
That places Afghanistan 132nd out of 178 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 the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 22.0% | — |
| 2001 | 22.0% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 24.1% | +9.6% |
| 2003 | 26.2% | +8.8% |
| 2004 | 28.3% | +8.1% |
| 2005 | 30.4% | +7.5% |
| 2006 | 32.5% | +6.9% |
| 2007 | 34.8% | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 37.0% | +6.4% |
| 2009 | 39.3% | +6.1% |
| 2010 | 41.5% | +5.8% |
| 2011 | 43.8% | +5.5% |
| 2012 | 46.1% | +5.2% |
| 2013 | 48.4% | +5.0% |
| 2014 | 50.8% | +4.8% |
| 2015 | 53.1% | +4.6% |
| 2016 | 55.5% | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 57.8% | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 60.2% | +4.1% |
| 2019 | 62.6% | +4.0% |
| 2020 | 65.0% | +3.9% |
| 2021 | 67.5% | +3.7% |
| 2022 | 69.9% | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 72.3% | +3.5% |
| 2024 | 74.8% | +3.4% |
Afghanistan compared with similar countries
- Afghanistan's 74.8% is above the median for low income countries, which is 56.6%, 1.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Afghanistan's 74.8% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 93.8%, 80% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 29.7% | 22.0% | 39.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.0% | 41.5% | 62.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 69.9% | 65.0% | 74.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More environment data for Afghanistan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -19.95 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -17.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.547 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.96 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.85 % 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 0.7636 % 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 the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Afghanistan?
- Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Afghanistan was 74.8% 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 the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 74.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.0% in 2000.
- How does Afghanistan rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
- Afghanistan ranks 132nd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 47.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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 the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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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.