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

Liberia: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 596,153 people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
596,153 people
Change on year
down 3.6%
World rank
61st
of 178 countries
All-time high
830,891 people
in 2008
All-time low
596,153 people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

0200.0k400.0k600.0k800.0k2000201220242000: 816.4k people2001: 816.8k people2002: 814.0k people2003: 796.2k people2004: 781.4k people2005: 791.9k people2006: 811.0k people2007: 825.0k people2008: 830.9k people2009: 828.4k people2010: 822.9k people2011: 825.1k people2012: 823.1k people2013: 809.2k people2014: 793.6k people2015: 777.1k people2016: 759.7k people2017: 740.9k people2018: 721.4k people2019: 701.5k people2020: 681.4k people2021: 660.9k people2022: 639.9k people2023: 618.6k people2024: 596.2k people

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

Analysis

Liberia recorded 596,153 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 3.6% on the previous year and down 24.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Liberia peaked at 830,891 people in 2008 and was at its lowest, 596,153 people, in 2024.

That places Liberia 61st out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 811,191 people 781,404 people 830,891 people 10
2010s 777,434 people 701,462 people 825,062 people 10
2020s 639,405 people 596,153 people 681,445 people 5

Countries ranked near Liberia

  1. 58 Guatemala 707,323 people compare
  2. 59 Bangladesh 628,637 people compare
  3. 60 Mexico 600,167 people compare
  4. 62 Nepal 543,050 people compare
  5. 63 Mauritania 508,969 people compare
  6. 64 Guinea-Bissau 422,890 people compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Liberia

All data for Liberia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Liberia?
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Liberia was 596,153 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 Liberia?
The highest recorded value was 830,891 people in 2008.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Liberia?
The lowest recorded value was 596,153 people in 2024.
How does Liberia rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
Liberia ranks 61st out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Liberia?
Over the last ten years it is down 24.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Liberia 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.