Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Malawi
Malawi: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 70.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Malawi, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Malawi is 70.1%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Malawi peaked at 70.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 48.7%, in 2000.
That places Malawi 139th 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 48.7% | — |
| 2001 | 49.6% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 50.5% | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 51.4% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 52.3% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 53.2% | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 54.1% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 55.0% | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 55.9% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 56.8% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 57.7% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 58.6% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 59.5% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 60.3% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 61.2% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 62.1% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 63.0% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 63.9% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 64.7% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 65.6% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 66.5% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 67.4% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 68.2% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 69.2% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 70.1% | +1.3% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 70.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 56.6%, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 70.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 58.5%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 52.8% | 48.7% | 56.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 61.7% | 57.7% | 65.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 68.3% | 66.5% | 70.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.43 % 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 Malawi?
- Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Malawi was 70.1% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 70.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.7% in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
- Malawi ranks 139th 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 Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.