People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Uganda
Uganda: People in rural areas not using an improved water source was 5.95 million people in 2024. ▼ Falling
People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Uganda, 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
Uganda recorded 5.95 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.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.8% on the previous year and down 25.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Uganda peaked at 9.02 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.95 million people, in 2024.
Uganda ranks 16th of 178 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.88 million people | 8.60 million people | 9.02 million people | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.90 million people | 7.21 million people | 8.50 million people | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.50 million people | 5.95 million people | 7.01 million people | 5 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 13 Chad 6.72 million people compare
- 14 Myanmar 6.70 million people compare
- 15 Afghanistan 6.49 million people compare
- 17 Angola 5.80 million people compare
- 18 Papua New Guinea 4.02 million people compare
- 19 Burkina Faso 3.92 million people compare
More environment data for Uganda
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 57.3 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.15 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 20.51 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 3.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 9.27 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.2833 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 38.19 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0052 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0269 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 4.15 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people in rural areas not using an improved water source in Uganda?
- People in rural areas not using an improved water source in Uganda was 5.95 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 9.02 million people in 2000.
- What is the lowest people in rural areas not using an improved water source recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.95 million people in 2024.
- How does Uganda rank for people in rural areas not using an improved water source?
- Uganda ranks 16th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people in rural areas not using an improved water source rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Uganda 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.