Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Cameroon
Cameroon: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 13.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Cameroon, 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 population not using improved drinking water sources in Cameroon stood at 13.7%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.7% on the previous year and down 39.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Cameroon peaked at 37.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 13.7%, in 2024.
That places Cameroon 33rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Cameroon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 37.6% | — |
| 2001 | 36.5% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 35.3% | -3.2% |
| 2003 | 34.2% | -3.2% |
| 2004 | 33.0% | -3.3% |
| 2005 | 31.9% | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 30.8% | -3.4% |
| 2007 | 29.8% | -3.5% |
| 2008 | 28.7% | -3.6% |
| 2009 | 27.6% | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 26.6% | -3.7% |
| 2011 | 25.6% | -3.8% |
| 2012 | 24.6% | -3.9% |
| 2013 | 23.6% | -4.0% |
| 2014 | 22.6% | -4.1% |
| 2015 | 21.6% | -4.2% |
| 2016 | 20.7% | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 19.8% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 18.9% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 18.0% | -4.8% |
| 2020 | 17.1% | -4.9% |
| 2021 | 16.2% | -5.1% |
| 2022 | 15.4% | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 14.5% | -5.5% |
| 2024 | 13.7% | -5.7% |
Cameroon compared with similar countries
- Cameroon's 13.7% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 1.7× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Cameroon's 13.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.8%, 92% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 32.5% | 27.6% | 37.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.2% | 18.0% | 26.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.4% | 13.7% | 17.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Cameroon
More environment data for Cameroon
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -8.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.68 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.211 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.15 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6539 % 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 0.4385 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Cameroon?
- Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Cameroon was 13.7% 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 Cameroon?
- The highest recorded value was 37.6% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Cameroon?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.7% in 2024.
- How does Cameroon rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
- Cameroon ranks 33rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Cameroon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Cameroon 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
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
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.