Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ecuador
Ecuador: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 4.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ecuador, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Ecuador recorded 4.0% for share of population not using improved drinking water sources in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.2% on the previous year and down 50.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ecuador peaked at 15.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 4.0%, in 2024.
That places Ecuador 69th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
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 Ecuador, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 15.2% | — |
| 2001 | 14.7% | -3.8% |
| 2002 | 14.1% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 13.6% | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 13.1% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 12.6% | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 12.1% | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 11.6% | -4.2% |
| 2008 | 11.1% | -4.3% |
| 2009 | 10.6% | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 10.1% | -4.7% |
| 2011 | 9.6% | -4.9% |
| 2012 | 9.1% | -5.1% |
| 2013 | 8.6% | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 8.2% | -5.6% |
| 2015 | 7.7% | -5.9% |
| 2016 | 7.2% | -6.3% |
| 2017 | 6.7% | -6.7% |
| 2018 | 6.2% | -7.2% |
| 2019 | 5.7% | -7.8% |
| 2020 | 5.3% | -8.4% |
| 2021 | 4.8% | -7.8% |
| 2022 | 4.6% | -5.6% |
| 2023 | 4.3% | -5.9% |
| 2024 | 4.0% | -6.2% |
Ecuador compared with similar countries
- Ecuador's 4.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.2%, 3.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Ecuador's 4.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.1%, 3.8× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 12.9% | 10.6% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.9% | 5.7% | 10.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.6% | 4.0% | 5.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ecuador
More environment data for Ecuador
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.3767 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.4 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.49 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.65 % 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 -1.14 % 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 Ecuador?
- Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ecuador was 4.0% 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 Ecuador?
- The highest recorded value was 15.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Ecuador?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.0% in 2024.
- How does Ecuador rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
- Ecuador ranks 69th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Ecuador?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ecuador 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.