Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Congo
Congo: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 16.2% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Congo, 2000–2021
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Congo stood at 16.2%. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.
The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 27.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Congo peaked at 31.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 16.2%, in 2021.
That places Congo 25th out of 231 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 28.3% | 24.2% | 31.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.4% | 16.6% | 23.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.3% | 16.2% | 16.4% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Congo
More environment data for Congo
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 24.62 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 3.89 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 0.4604 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.4601 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 13.3 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0013 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 14.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0052 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0073 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.7254 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Congo?
- Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Congo was 16.2% in 2021, 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 Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 31.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.2% in 2021.
- How does Congo rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
- Congo ranks 25th out of 231 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 27.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this 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 population not using improved drinking water sources. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 22 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.