People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Egypt
Egypt: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 1.67 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Egypt, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Egypt is 1.67 million people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.3% on the previous year and up 63.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Egypt peaked at 1.67 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 362,589 people, in 2000.
Egypt ranks 38th of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Egypt, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 362,589 people | — |
| 2001 | 399,444 people | +10.2% |
| 2002 | 437,575 people | +9.5% |
| 2003 | 477,062 people | +9.0% |
| 2004 | 517,813 people | +8.5% |
| 2005 | 559,769 people | +8.1% |
| 2006 | 602,752 people | +7.7% |
| 2007 | 647,204 people | +7.4% |
| 2008 | 693,289 people | +7.1% |
| 2009 | 741,049 people | +6.9% |
| 2010 | 790,648 people | +6.7% |
| 2011 | 843,472 people | +6.7% |
| 2012 | 900,023 people | +6.7% |
| 2013 | 959,342 people | +6.6% |
| 2014 | 1.02 million people | +6.4% |
| 2015 | 1.08 million people | +6.1% |
| 2016 | 1.15 million people | +5.9% |
| 2017 | 1.21 million people | +5.6% |
| 2018 | 1.28 million people | +5.4% |
| 2019 | 1.34 million people | +5.0% |
| 2020 | 1.40 million people | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 1.47 million people | +4.5% |
| 2022 | 1.53 million people | +4.3% |
| 2023 | 1.60 million people | +4.4% |
| 2024 | 1.67 million people | +4.3% |
Egypt compared with similar countries
- Egypt's 1.67 million people is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 796,634 people, 2.1× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Egypt's 1.67 million people is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 80,074 people, 20.8× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 543,855 people | 362,589 people | 741,049 people | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.06 million people | 790,648 people | 1.34 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.53 million people | 1.40 million people | 1.67 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Egypt
More environment data for Egypt
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -20.54 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -13.21 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.361 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.56 % 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 -3.07 % 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 people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Egypt?
- People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Egypt was 1.67 million people 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 people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Egypt?
- The highest recorded value was 1.67 million people in 2024.
- What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Egypt?
- The lowest recorded value was 362,589 people in 2000.
- How does Egypt rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
- Egypt ranks 38th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Egypt?
- Over the last ten years it is up 63.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Egypt 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 People in rural areas not using an improved water source. 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
Number of people not using improved drinking water sources. These people might use surface water sources or unprotected springs or wells, as no safe and reliable improved drinking water source is available to them.