Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Laos
Laos: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 4.1% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Laos, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Laos recorded 4.1% 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 25.3% on the previous year and down 81.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Laos peaked at 51.0% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 4.1%, in 2024.
That places Laos 68th out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 41.0% | 31.7% | 51.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 21.1% | 12.6% | 29.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.3% | 4.1% | 10.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Laos
More environment data for Laos
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 41.55 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 5.35 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 9.63 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.5411 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.65 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0059 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 12.32 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.005 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0081 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 0.4771 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Laos?
- Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Laos was 4.1% 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 51.0% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.1% in 2024.
- How does Laos rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
- Laos ranks 68th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is down 81.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Laos 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.