People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 1.88 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sri Lanka, 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
In 2024, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sri Lanka stood at 1.88 million people.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and down 17.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sri Lanka peaked at 2.70 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.87 million people, in 2023.
That places Sri Lanka 36th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.59 million people | 2.44 million people | 2.70 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.24 million people | 2.07 million people | 2.41 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.93 million people | 1.87 million people | 2.02 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 37.17 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.7 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.57 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.6851 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 0.0046 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0737 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 11.12 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0632 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.72 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sri Lanka?
- People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Sri Lanka was 1.88 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 2.70 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.87 million people in 2023.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
- Sri Lanka ranks 36th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.