Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 15.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
15.2%
Change on year
down 10.6%
World rank
29th
of 231 countries
All-time high
67.5%
in 2000
All-time low
15.2%
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan, 2000–2024

2040602000201220242000: 67.5 %2001: 67.5 %2002: 65.2 %2003: 62.9 %2004: 60.6 %2005: 58.3 %2006: 56 %2007: 53.6 %2008: 51.3 %2009: 49 %2010: 46.7 %2011: 44.4 %2012: 42 %2013: 39.7 %2014: 37.4 %2015: 35.1 %2016: 32.8 %2017: 30.5 %2018: 28.2 %2019: 25.9 %2020: 23.5 %2021: 21.2 %2022: 18.9 %2023: 17 %2024: 15.2 %

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 population not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan is 15.2%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 10.6% on the previous year and down 59.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan peaked at 67.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 15.2%, in 2024.

Afghanistan ranks 29th of 231 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 59.2% 49.0% 67.5% 10
2010s 36.3% 25.9% 46.7% 10
2020s 19.2% 15.2% 23.5% 5

Countries ranked near Afghanistan

  1. 26 Rwanda 15.8% compare
  2. 27 Cote d'Ivoire 15.8% compare
  3. 28 Haiti 15.6% compare
  4. 30 Uganda 13.9% compare
  5. 31 Nigeria 13.8% compare
  6. 32 Guinea 13.8% compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Afghanistan

All data for Afghanistan →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan?
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Afghanistan was 15.2% 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 population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Afghanistan?
The highest recorded value was 67.5% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Afghanistan?
The lowest recorded value was 15.2% in 2024.
How does Afghanistan rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
Afghanistan ranks 29th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Afghanistan?
Over the last ten years it is down 59.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
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 population not using improved drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
231 places, 5,586 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion 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.