Share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water was 36.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water in Afghanistan, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 36.4% for share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water in Afghanistan peaked at 36.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 21.9%, in 2000.
That places Afghanistan 92nd out of 105 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 urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water in Afghanistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 21.9% | — |
| 2001 | 21.9% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 22.6% | +3.1% |
| 2003 | 23.3% | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 23.9% | +2.9% |
| 2005 | 24.6% | +2.9% |
| 2006 | 25.3% | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 26.0% | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 26.7% | +2.6% |
| 2009 | 27.4% | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 28.0% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 28.7% | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 29.4% | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 30.1% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 30.8% | +2.3% |
| 2015 | 31.5% | +2.2% |
| 2016 | 32.2% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 32.8% | +2.1% |
| 2018 | 33.5% | +2.1% |
| 2019 | 34.2% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 34.9% | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 35.6% | +2.0% |
| 2022 | 36.3% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 36.4% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 36.4% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.4% | 21.9% | 27.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.1% | 28.0% | 34.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.9% | 34.9% | 36.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More environment data for Afghanistan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -19.95 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -17.12 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.547 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.96 °C (2025)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 16.96 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0004 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate -23.01 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water in Afghanistan?
- Share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water in Afghanistan was 36.4% 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 urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 36.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.9% in 2000.
- How does Afghanistan rank for share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water?
- Afghanistan ranks 92nd out of 105 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Afghanistan 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 urban and rural population using safely managed drinking water. 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 using an improved drinking water source that is located on premises, available when needed and free from fecal and priority chemical contamination.