People in rural areas not using an improved water source in El Salvador

El Salvador: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 58,759 people in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
58,759 people
Change on year
down 11.7%
World rank
93rd
of 178 countries
All-time high
723,954 people
in 2000
All-time low
58,759 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People in rural areas not using an improved water source in El Salvador, 2000–2024

0200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k2000201220242000: 724.0k people2001: 717.2k people2002: 679.1k people2003: 640.9k people2004: 602.9k people2005: 565.2k people2006: 527.9k people2007: 491.8k people2008: 453.4k people2009: 416.3k people2010: 380.5k people2011: 346.1k people2012: 312.9k people2013: 281.0k people2014: 250.2k people2015: 220.4k people2016: 191.8k people2017: 164.4k people2018: 138.1k people2019: 112.9k people2020: 92.7k people2021: 83.5k people2022: 74.7k people2023: 66.5k people2024: 58.8k people

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

El Salvador recorded 58,759 people for people in rural areas not using an improved water source in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 11.7% on the previous year and down 76.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in El Salvador peaked at 723,954 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 58,759 people, in 2024.

That places El Salvador 93rd out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 581,870 people 416,334 people 723,954 people 10
2010s 239,833 people 112,888 people 380,535 people 10
2020s 75,242 people 58,759 people 92,720 people 5

Countries ranked near El Salvador

  1. 90 Dominican Republic 77,060 people compare
  2. 91 Portugal 73,082 people compare
  3. 92 Georgia 62,927 people compare
  4. 94 Djibouti 53,612 people compare
  5. 95 Botswana 47,985 people compare
  6. 96 Serbia 40,286 people compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for El Salvador

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in El Salvador?
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in El Salvador was 58,759 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 El Salvador?
The highest recorded value was 723,954 people in 2000.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in El Salvador?
The lowest recorded value was 58,759 people in 2024.
How does El Salvador rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
El Salvador ranks 93rd out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in El Salvador?
Over the last ten years it is down 76.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this El Salvador 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

Indicator
People in rural areas not using an improved water source
Unit
people
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
178 places, 4,351 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.