Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Panama
Panama: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 87.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Panama, 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 Panama is 87.8%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Panama peaked at 87.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 77.2%, in 2000.
Panama ranks 107th 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 Panama, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 77.2% | — |
| 2001 | 77.8% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 78.3% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 78.8% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 79.2% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 79.5% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 79.9% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 80.3% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 80.6% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 80.9% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 81.3% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 81.6% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 82.0% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 82.3% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 82.6% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 83.0% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 83.5% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 84.0% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 84.6% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 85.1% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 85.7% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 86.2% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 86.7% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 87.3% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 87.8% | +0.6% |
Panama compared with similar countries
- Panama's 87.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 100.0%, 88% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Panama's 87.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 93.3%, 94% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 79.3% | 77.2% | 80.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.0% | 81.3% | 85.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.7% | 85.7% | 87.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Panama
- 104 North Korea 88.8% compare
- 105 Moldova 88.7% compare
- 106 Sri Lanka 88.4% compare
- 108 Peru 87.3% compare
- 109 Tajikistan 86.9% compare
- 110 Cape Verde 86.2% compare
More environment data for Panama
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.66 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 7.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.274 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.86 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.41 % 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 -0.2493 % 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 Panama?
- Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Panama was 87.8% 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 Panama?
- The highest recorded value was 87.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Panama?
- The lowest recorded value was 77.2% in 2000.
- How does Panama rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
- Panama ranks 107th 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 Panama?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Panama 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.