Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Nepal
Nepal: 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 Nepal, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Nepal recorded 2.9% 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 17.3% on the previous year and down 68.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Nepal peaked at 19.1% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2024.
That places Nepal 83rd 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 Nepal, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 19.1% | — |
| 2001 | 18.4% | -3.9% |
| 2002 | 17.7% | -3.9% |
| 2003 | 16.9% | -4.0% |
| 2004 | 16.2% | -4.2% |
| 2005 | 15.5% | -4.3% |
| 2006 | 14.8% | -4.5% |
| 2007 | 14.1% | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 13.4% | -4.9% |
| 2009 | 12.7% | -5.1% |
| 2010 | 12.1% | -5.4% |
| 2011 | 11.4% | -5.7% |
| 2012 | 10.7% | -6.0% |
| 2013 | 10.0% | -6.3% |
| 2014 | 9.4% | -6.7% |
| 2015 | 8.7% | -7.1% |
| 2016 | 8.0% | -7.6% |
| 2017 | 7.4% | -8.2% |
| 2018 | 6.7% | -8.8% |
| 2019 | 6.1% | -9.6% |
| 2020 | 5.4% | -10.5% |
| 2021 | 4.8% | -11.6% |
| 2022 | 4.2% | -13.1% |
| 2023 | 3.6% | -14.9% |
| 2024 | 2.9% | -17.3% |
Nepal compared with similar countries
- Nepal's 2.9% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 37% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Nepal's 2.9% is above the median for South Asia, which is 1.2%, 2.4× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.9% | 12.7% | 19.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.0% | 6.1% | 12.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.2% | 2.9% | 5.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Nepal
More environment data for Nepal
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.41 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.265 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.43 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.54 % 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 -6.53 % 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 Nepal?
- Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Nepal 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 Nepal?
- The highest recorded value was 19.1% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Nepal?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2024.
- How does Nepal rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
- Nepal ranks 83rd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Nepal?
- Over the last ten years it is down 68.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Nepal 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.