Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in China
China: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 93.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in China, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
China recorded 93.8% 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.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in China peaked at 93.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 70.7%, in 2000.
China ranks 87th of 178 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 the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 70.7% | — |
| 2001 | 70.7% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 71.7% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 72.6% | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 73.6% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 74.5% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 75.5% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 76.4% | +1.2% |
| 2008 | 77.3% | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 78.3% | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 79.2% | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 80.1% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 81.1% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 82.0% | +1.1% |
| 2014 | 82.9% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 83.8% | +1.1% |
| 2016 | 84.8% | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 85.7% | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 86.6% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 87.5% | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 88.4% | +1.0% |
| 2021 | 90.0% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 92.1% | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 93.8% | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 93.8% | +0.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 93.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 94.8%, 99% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- China's 93.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 93.4%, 1.0× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 74.1% | 70.7% | 78.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.4% | 79.2% | 87.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 91.6% | 88.4% | 93.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.279 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8065 % 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 -0.2517 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0.9037 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in China?
- Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in China was 93.8% 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 China?
- The highest recorded value was 93.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 70.7% in 2000.
- How does China rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
- China ranks 87th 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 China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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
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.