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

Gambia: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 84,097 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
84,097 people
Change on year
down 6.4%
World rank
88th
of 178 countries
All-time high
184,294 people
in 2000
All-time low
84,097 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

050.0k100.0k150.0k200.0k2000201220242000: 184.3k people2001: 181.1k people2002: 177.7k people2003: 174.3k people2004: 171.4k people2005: 168.4k people2006: 165.4k people2007: 162.3k people2008: 159.0k people2009: 155.6k people2010: 152.1k people2011: 148.5k people2012: 144.7k people2013: 140.8k people2014: 136.6k people2015: 132.1k people2016: 127.4k people2017: 122.4k people2018: 117.3k people2019: 111.9k people2020: 106.6k people2021: 101.1k people2022: 95.5k people2023: 89.9k people2024: 84.1k people

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 Gambia is 84,097 people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 6.4% on the previous year and down 38.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Gambia peaked at 184,294 people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 84,097 people, in 2024.

Gambia ranks 88th 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 169,948 people 155,648 people 184,294 people 10
2010s 133,373 people 111,948 people 152,120 people 10
2020s 95,429 people 84,097 people 106,565 people 5

Countries ranked near Gambia

  1. 85 Canada 110,386 people compare
  2. 86 Tunisia 106,536 people compare
  3. 87 Gabon 88,247 people compare
  4. 89 Cuba 80,619 people compare
  5. 90 Dominican Republic 77,060 people compare
  6. 91 Portugal 73,082 people compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Gambia

All data for Gambia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Gambia?
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Gambia was 84,097 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 Gambia?
The highest recorded value was 184,294 people in 2000.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Gambia?
The lowest recorded value was 84,097 people in 2024.
How does Gambia rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
Gambia ranks 88th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Gambia?
Over the last ten years it is down 38.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Gambia 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.