People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 1.81 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sierra Leone, 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 Sierra Leone is 1.81 million people, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of down 2.3% on the previous year and down 14.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sierra Leone peaked at 2.24 million people in 2005 and was at its lowest, 1.81 million people, in 2024.
Sierra Leone ranks 37th of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1.99 million people | — |
| 2001 | 2.11 million people | +5.7% |
| 2002 | 2.18 million people | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 2.22 million people | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 2.24 million people | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 2.24 million people | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2.22 million people | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 2.21 million people | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 2.20 million people | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 2.19 million people | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 2.19 million people | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 2.18 million people | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 2.16 million people | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 2.15 million people | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 2.13 million people | -0.9% |
| 2015 | 2.10 million people | -1.1% |
| 2016 | 2.08 million people | -1.1% |
| 2017 | 2.06 million people | -1.2% |
| 2018 | 2.03 million people | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 2.00 million people | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 1.97 million people | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 1.93 million people | -1.7% |
| 2022 | 1.90 million people | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 1.86 million people | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 1.81 million people | -2.3% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 1.81 million people is below the median for low income countries, which is 2.34 million people, 77% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 1.81 million people is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.93 million people, 94% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.18 million people | 1.99 million people | 2.24 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.11 million people | 2.00 million people | 2.19 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.89 million people | 1.81 million people | 1.97 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More environment data for Sierra Leone
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.232 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.72 % 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 1.11 % 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 Sierra Leone?
- People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sierra Leone was 1.81 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 2.24 million people in 2005.
- What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.81 million people in 2024.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
- Sierra Leone ranks 37th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.