Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Gabon
Gabon: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 5.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Gabon, 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 Gabon stood at 5.6%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 34.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Gabon peaked at 15.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 5.6%, in 2024.
That places Gabon 58th 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 Gabon, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 15.2% | — |
| 2001 | 14.6% | -3.7% |
| 2002 | 14.1% | -3.8% |
| 2003 | 13.5% | -3.8% |
| 2004 | 13.0% | -3.8% |
| 2005 | 12.5% | -3.9% |
| 2006 | 12.0% | -3.9% |
| 2007 | 11.6% | -4.0% |
| 2008 | 11.1% | -4.0% |
| 2009 | 10.6% | -4.0% |
| 2010 | 10.2% | -4.1% |
| 2011 | 9.8% | -4.2% |
| 2012 | 9.4% | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 9.0% | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 8.6% | -4.3% |
| 2015 | 8.2% | -4.3% |
| 2016 | 7.9% | -4.3% |
| 2017 | 7.5% | -4.3% |
| 2018 | 7.2% | -4.4% |
| 2019 | 6.9% | -4.4% |
| 2020 | 6.6% | -4.4% |
| 2021 | 6.3% | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 6.0% | -4.5% |
| 2023 | 5.7% | -4.6% |
| 2024 | 5.6% | -1.8% |
Gabon compared with similar countries
- Gabon's 5.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.2%, 4.6× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Gabon's 5.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 14.8%, 38% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 12.8% | 10.6% | 15.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.5% | 6.9% | 10.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.0% | 5.6% | 6.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Gabon
More environment data for Gabon
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.44 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.43 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.219 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.09 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.06 % 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 0.6222 % 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 Gabon?
- Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Gabon was 5.6% 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 Gabon?
- The highest recorded value was 15.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Gabon?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.6% in 2024.
- How does Gabon rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
- Gabon ranks 58th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Gabon?
- Over the last ten years it is down 34.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Gabon 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.