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

Somalia: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 2.34 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
2.34 million people
Change on year
down 7.4%
World rank
29th
of 178 countries
All-time high
5.00 million people
in 2002
All-time low
2.34 million people
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

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

02.0M4.0M6.0M2000201220242000: 5.0M people2001: 5.0M people2002: 5.0M people2003: 5.0M people2004: 4.9M people2005: 4.9M people2006: 4.8M people2007: 5.0M people2008: 4.8M people2009: 4.6M people2010: 4.4M people2011: 4.1M people2012: 3.9M people2013: 3.8M people2014: 3.8M people2015: 3.7M people2016: 3.6M people2017: 3.4M people2018: 3.3M people2019: 3.2M people2020: 3.0M people2021: 2.9M people2022: 2.7M people2023: 2.5M people2024: 2.3M people

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

Analysis

Somalia recorded 2.34 million 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.

The figure is down 7.4% on the previous year and down 37.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Somalia peaked at 5.00 million people in 2002 and was at its lowest, 2.34 million people, in 2024.

Somalia ranks 29th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.89 million people 4.60 million people 5.00 million people 10
2010s 3.72 million people 3.19 million people 4.40 million people 10
2020s 2.71 million people 2.34 million people 3.05 million people 5

Countries ranked near Somalia

  1. 26 Russia 2.89 million people compare
  2. 27 Poland 2.79 million people compare
  3. 28 South Sudan 2.35 million people compare
  4. 30 Rwanda 2.17 million people compare
  5. 31 Mali 1.99 million people compare
  6. 32 Guinea 1.96 million people compare

See the full ranking of 178 places →

More environment data for Somalia

All data for Somalia →

Frequently asked questions

What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Somalia?
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Somalia was 2.34 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 Somalia?
The highest recorded value was 5.00 million people in 2002.
What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Somalia?
The lowest recorded value was 2.34 million people in 2024.
How does Somalia rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
Somalia ranks 29th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Somalia?
Over the last ten years it is down 37.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Somalia 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.