Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services was 57.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Sierra Leone, 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 Sierra Leone is 57.0%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.5% on the previous year and up 31.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Sierra Leone peaked at 57.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 26.5%, in 2000.
Sierra Leone ranks 155th 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.
Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 26.5% | — |
| 2001 | 26.5% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 27.8% | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 29.1% | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 30.4% | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 31.7% | +4.3% |
| 2006 | 33.0% | +4.1% |
| 2007 | 34.3% | +3.9% |
| 2008 | 35.6% | +3.8% |
| 2009 | 36.9% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 38.2% | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 39.5% | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 40.8% | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 42.2% | +3.2% |
| 2014 | 43.5% | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 44.8% | +3.1% |
| 2016 | 46.2% | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 47.5% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 48.9% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 50.2% | +2.8% |
| 2020 | 51.6% | +2.7% |
| 2021 | 52.9% | +2.6% |
| 2022 | 54.3% | +2.6% |
| 2023 | 55.7% | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 57.0% | +2.5% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 57.0% is above the median for low income countries, which is 56.6%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 57.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 58.5%, 98% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.2% | 26.5% | 36.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 44.2% | 38.2% | 50.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 54.3% | 51.6% | 57.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More environment data for Sierra Leone
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.232 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.72 % 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 1.11 % 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 Sierra Leone?
- Share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services in Sierra Leone was 57.0% 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 57.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.5% in 2000.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for share of the rural population using at least a basic drinking water services?
- Sierra Leone ranks 155th 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 Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.