Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ireland
Ireland: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 2.9% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ireland, 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 Ireland stood at 2.9%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 5.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ireland peaked at 3.4% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2024.
That places Ireland 84th out of 231 regions 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.3% | 3.2% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.1% | 3.0% | 3.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.9% | 2.9% | 3.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ireland
More environment data for Ireland
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 59.68 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 11.06 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 15.58 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.0879 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.23 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0115 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.11 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0209 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0087 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ireland?
- Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Ireland was 2.9% 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 Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 3.4% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2024.
- How does Ireland rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
- Ireland ranks 84th out of 231 regions with data for 2024.
- Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Ireland 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.