Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in South Sudan

South Sudan: Share of population not using improved drinking water sources was 22.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
22.4%
Change on year
down 0.2%
World rank
15th
of 231 countries
All-time high
35.6%
in 2011
All-time low
22.4%
in 2024
Years of data
14
2011–2024

Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in South Sudan, 2011–2024

0102030402011201720242011: 35.6 %2012: 34.4 %2013: 33.2 %2014: 32 %2015: 30.8 %2016: 29.6 %2017: 28.4 %2018: 27.2 %2019: 26 %2020: 24.8 %2021: 23.6 %2022: 22.4 %2023: 22.4 %2024: 22.4 %

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 South Sudan stood at 22.4%. That is the lowest value across all 14 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 30.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population not using improved drinking water sources in South Sudan peaked at 35.6% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 22.4%, in 2024.

South Sudan ranks 15th of 231 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2010s 30.8% 26.0% 35.6% 9
2020s 23.1% 22.4% 24.8% 5

Countries ranked near South Sudan

  1. 12 Guinea-Bissau 23.3% compare
  2. 13 Benin 23.0% compare
  3. 14 Tanzania 22.6% compare
  4. 16 Solomon Islands 22.2% compare
  5. 17 Angola 20.9% compare
  6. 18 Zambia 19.5% compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for South Sudan

All data for South Sudan →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population not using improved drinking water sources in South Sudan?
Share of population not using improved drinking water sources in South Sudan was 22.4% 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 South Sudan?
The highest recorded value was 35.6% in 2011.
What is the lowest share of population not using improved drinking water sources recorded in South Sudan?
The lowest recorded value was 22.4% in 2024.
How does South Sudan rank for share of population not using improved drinking water sources?
South Sudan ranks 15th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of population not using improved drinking water sources rising or falling in South Sudan?
Over the last ten years it is down 30.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Sudan 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 — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.