Share of the population using improved water sources in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of the population using improved water sources was 59.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population using improved water sources in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population using improved water sources in Democratic Republic of Congo is 59.8%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 11.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population using improved water sources in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 59.8% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 45.0%, in 2000.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 231st out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of the population using improved water sources in Democratic Republic of Congo, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 45.0% | — |
| 2001 | 45.6% | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 46.2% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 46.8% | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 47.4% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 48.0% | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 48.6% | +1.3% |
| 2007 | 49.2% | +1.3% |
| 2008 | 49.8% | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 50.4% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 51.1% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 51.7% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 52.3% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 53.0% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 53.6% | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 54.3% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 55.0% | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 55.6% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 56.3% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 57.0% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 57.7% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 58.4% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 59.1% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 59.5% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 59.8% | +0.6% |
Democratic Republic of Congo compared with similar countries
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 59.8% is below the median for low income countries, which is 83.3%, 72% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Democratic Republic of Congo's 59.8% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 85.2%, 70% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 47.7% | 45.0% | 50.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.0% | 51.1% | 57.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.9% | 57.7% | 59.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 228 Central African Republic 63.3% compare
- 229 Papua New Guinea 60.6% compare
- 230 Madagascar 60.4% compare
More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.26 % 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 5.2 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit of 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 0.338 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population using improved water sources in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Share of the population using improved water sources in Democratic Republic of Congo was 59.8% 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 share of the population using improved water sources recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 59.8% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the population using improved water sources recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.0% in 2000.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of the population using improved water sources?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 231st out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population using improved water sources rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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 Share of the population using improved water sources. 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
Proportion of people who use an improved drinking water source, regardless of collection time. An improved drinking water source is a safely designed drinking water source and includes e.g. piped water, boreholes or tubewells and packaged or delivered water.