Share of the population using improved water sources in Malawi
Malawi: Share of the population using improved water sources was 94.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population using improved water sources in Malawi, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of the population using improved water sources in Malawi stood at 94.2%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population using improved water sources in Malawi peaked at 94.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 68.3%, in 2000.
Malawi ranks 176th of 231 countries on this measure, 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 Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 68.3% | — |
| 2001 | 69.4% | +1.6% |
| 2002 | 70.5% | +1.6% |
| 2003 | 71.6% | +1.6% |
| 2004 | 72.7% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 73.8% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 74.9% | +1.5% |
| 2007 | 76.0% | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 77.1% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 78.1% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 79.2% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 80.3% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 81.4% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 82.5% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 83.6% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 84.6% | +1.3% |
| 2016 | 85.7% | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 86.8% | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 87.9% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 88.9% | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 90.0% | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 91.1% | +1.2% |
| 2022 | 92.1% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 93.2% | +1.1% |
| 2024 | 94.2% | +1.1% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 94.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 83.3%, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 94.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 85.2%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 73.2% | 68.3% | 78.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 84.1% | 79.2% | 88.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 92.1% | 90.0% | 94.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % 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 5.3 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population using improved water sources in Malawi?
- Share of the population using improved water sources in Malawi was 94.2% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 94.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the population using improved water sources recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 68.3% in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for share of the population using improved water sources?
- Malawi ranks 176th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population using improved water sources rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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.