Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Congo
Congo: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 44.2% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Congo, 2000–2021
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Congo stood at 44.2%. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.
That represents a change of up 30.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Congo peaked at 44.2% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 21.0%, in 2000.
Congo ranks 169th of 178 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Congo, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 21.0% | — |
| 2001 | 21.0% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 21.3% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 21.6% | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 23.0% | +6.6% |
| 2005 | 24.5% | +6.3% |
| 2006 | 25.9% | +6.1% |
| 2007 | 27.5% | +5.8% |
| 2008 | 29.0% | +5.6% |
| 2009 | 30.6% | +5.4% |
| 2010 | 32.2% | +5.2% |
| 2011 | 33.8% | +5.1% |
| 2012 | 35.5% | +4.9% |
| 2013 | 37.2% | +4.8% |
| 2014 | 38.9% | +4.6% |
| 2015 | 40.6% | +4.5% |
| 2016 | 42.4% | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 44.2% | +4.3% |
| 2018 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 44.2% | +0.0% |
Congo compared with similar countries
- Congo's 44.2% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.4%, 59% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Congo's 44.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 58.5%, 76% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.5% | 21.0% | 30.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 39.3% | 32.2% | 44.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.2% | 44.2% | 44.2% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More environment data for Congo
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -9.96 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.202 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.13 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8453 % 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 -0.4756 % 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 Congo?
- Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Congo was 44.2% in 2021, 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 Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 44.2% in 2017.
- What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.0% in 2000.
- How does Congo rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
- Congo ranks 169th out of 178 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 30.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Congo 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 — 22 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.