People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Eswatini

Eswatini: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 164,869 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
164,869 people
Change on year
down 6.7%
World rank
80th
of 178 countries
All-time high
414,404 people
in 2000
All-time low
164,869 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0100.0k200.0k300.0k400.0k2000201220242000: 414.4k people2001: 407.5k people2002: 399.9k people2003: 391.6k people2004: 382.9k people2005: 373.8k people2006: 364.3k people2007: 354.8k people2008: 344.2k people2009: 333.4k people2010: 322.2k people2011: 311.0k people2012: 299.8k people2013: 288.6k people2014: 277.4k people2015: 266.1k people2016: 254.7k people2017: 243.6k people2018: 232.8k people2019: 221.8k people2020: 210.9k people2021: 200.0k people2022: 188.5k people2023: 176.7k people2024: 164.9k people

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

Analysis

In 2024, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Eswatini stood at 164,869 people. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 6.7% on the previous year and down 40.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Eswatini peaked at 414,404 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 164,869 people, in 2024.

Eswatini ranks 80th of 178 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 376,676 people 333,356 people 414,404 people 10
2010s 271,808 people 221,790 people 322,247 people 10
2020s 188,204 people 164,869 people 210,917 people 5

Countries ranked near Eswatini

  1. 77 Namibia 176,687 people compare
  2. 78 Solomon Islands 170,906 people compare
  3. 79 Moldova 166,372 people compare
  4. 81 Chile 149,391 people compare
  5. 82 Panama 130,148 people compare
  6. 83 Azerbaijan 122,236 people compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Eswatini

All data for Eswatini →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Eswatini?
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Eswatini was 164,869 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 Eswatini?
The highest recorded value was 414,404 people in 2000.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Eswatini?
The lowest recorded value was 164,869 people in 2024.
How does Eswatini rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
Eswatini ranks 80th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Eswatini?
Over the last ten years it is down 40.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Eswatini 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.