Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Iran
Iran: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 94.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Iran, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Iran stood at 94.8%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Iran peaked at 94.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 87.4%, in 2000.
Iran ranks 81st 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 Iran, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 87.4% | — |
| 2001 | 87.7% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 88.0% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 88.3% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 88.6% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 88.9% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 89.2% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 89.5% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 89.8% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 90.1% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 90.5% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 90.8% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 91.1% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 91.4% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 91.7% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 92.0% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 92.3% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 92.6% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 92.9% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 93.2% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 93.6% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 93.9% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 94.2% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 94.5% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 94.8% | +0.3% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 94.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 94.8%, 1.0× the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Iran's 94.8% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 93.8%, 1.0× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 88.7% | 87.4% | 90.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 91.8% | 90.5% | 93.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 94.2% | 93.6% | 94.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More environment data for Iran
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -30.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -21.27 Percentage change (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.4 % 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 1.9 % 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 -0.0807 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 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 Iran?
- Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Iran was 94.8% 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 94.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 87.4% in 2000.
- How does Iran rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
- Iran ranks 81st 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 Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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.