Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Ethiopia

Ethiopia: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 47.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
47.0%
Change on year
up 3.5%
World rank
167th
of 178 countries
All-time high
47.0%
in 2024
All-time low
8.8%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Ethiopia, 2000–2024

10203040502000201220242000: 8.8 %2001: 10.4 %2002: 11.9 %2003: 13.5 %2004: 15.1 %2005: 16.7 %2006: 18.3 %2007: 19.9 %2008: 21.5 %2009: 23.1 %2010: 24.7 %2011: 26.3 %2012: 27.9 %2013: 29.5 %2014: 31.1 %2015: 32.7 %2016: 34.2 %2017: 35.8 %2018: 37.4 %2019: 39 %2020: 40.6 %2021: 42.2 %2022: 43.8 %2023: 45.4 %2024: 47 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Ethiopia recorded 47.0% 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.

The figure is up 3.5% on the previous year and up 51.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Ethiopia peaked at 47.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 8.8%, in 2000.

Ethiopia ranks 167th of 178 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 15.9% 8.8% 23.1% 10
2010s 31.9% 24.7% 39.0% 10
2020s 43.8% 40.6% 47.0% 5

Countries ranked near Ethiopia

  1. 164 Tanzania 51.3% compare
  2. 165 Gabon 49.1% compare
  3. 166 Papua New Guinea 48.3% compare
  4. 168 Niger 46.4% compare
  5. 169 Congo 44.2% compare
  6. 170 Chad 43.8% compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Ethiopia

All data for Ethiopia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Ethiopia?
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Ethiopia was 47.0% 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 Ethiopia?
The highest recorded value was 47.0% in 2024.
What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Ethiopia?
The lowest recorded value was 8.8% in 2000.
How does Ethiopia rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
Ethiopia ranks 167th 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 Ethiopia?
Over the last ten years it is up 51.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Ethiopia 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

Indicator
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 4,351 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.