Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Kenya
Kenya: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 55.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Kenya, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 55.6% 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 1.5% on the previous year and up 17.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Kenya peaked at 55.6% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 35.4%, in 2000.
That places Kenya 158th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
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 Kenya, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 35.4% | — |
| 2001 | 36.3% | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 37.1% | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 37.9% | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 38.8% | +2.2% |
| 2005 | 39.6% | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 40.4% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 41.3% | +2.1% |
| 2008 | 42.1% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 43.0% | +2.0% |
| 2010 | 43.8% | +2.0% |
| 2011 | 44.6% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 45.5% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 46.3% | +1.8% |
| 2014 | 47.2% | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 48.0% | +1.8% |
| 2016 | 48.8% | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 49.7% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 50.5% | +1.7% |
| 2019 | 51.4% | +1.7% |
| 2020 | 52.2% | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 53.1% | +1.6% |
| 2022 | 53.9% | +1.6% |
| 2023 | 54.7% | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 55.6% | +1.5% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 55.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 75.4%, 74% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 55.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 58.5%, 95% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39.2% | 35.4% | 43.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 47.6% | 43.8% | 51.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 53.9% | 52.2% | 55.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
More environment data for Kenya
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -8.08 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.27 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.12 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.39 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 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 Kenya?
- Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Kenya was 55.6% 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 55.6% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.4% in 2000.
- How does Kenya rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
- Kenya ranks 158th 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 Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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.