Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Somalia

Somalia: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 17.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
17.1%
Change on year
down 8.7%
World rank
22nd
of 231 countries
All-time high
63.6%
in 2000
All-time low
17.1%
in 2024
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Somalia, 2000–2024

20304050602000201220242000: 63.6 %2001: 61.5 %2002: 59.5 %2003: 57.2 %2004: 55 %2005: 52.8 %2006: 50.6 %2007: 50.1 %2008: 47.5 %2009: 45 %2010: 42.5 %2011: 40.1 %2012: 38.2 %2013: 36.4 %2014: 34.5 %2015: 32.6 %2016: 30.8 %2017: 29 %2018: 27.3 %2019: 25.5 %2020: 23.8 %2021: 22.1 %2022: 20.4 %2023: 18.7 %2024: 17.1 %

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 Somalia stood at 17.1%. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of down 8.7% 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 Somalia peaked at 63.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 17.1%, in 2024.

That places Somalia 22nd out of 231 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 54.3% 45.0% 63.6% 10
2010s 33.7% 25.5% 42.5% 10
2020s 20.4% 17.1% 23.8% 5

Countries ranked near Somalia

  1. 19 Zimbabwe 18.5% compare
  2. 20 Burkina Faso 18.2% compare
  3. 21 Togo 17.7% compare
  4. 23 Ethiopia 16.7% compare
  5. 24 Kiribati 16.4% compare
  6. 25 Congo 16.2% compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Somalia

All data for Somalia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Somalia?
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in Somalia was 17.1% 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 Somalia?
The highest recorded value was 63.6% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in Somalia?
The lowest recorded value was 17.1% in 2024.
How does Somalia rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
Somalia ranks 22nd out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in Somalia?
Over the last ten years it is down 50.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Somalia 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

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About this data

Indicator
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
231 places, 5,586 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.