What is the highest using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?

The highest recorded value was 89.7% in 2022.

What is the lowest using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?

The lowest recorded value was 79.8% in 2000.

How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population?

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 182nd out of 188 countries with data for 2024.

Is using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?

Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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 Using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo

Name: Using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo
Creator: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Democratic Republic of Congo: Using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population was 89.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)

89.7%

Change on year

unchanged

World rank

182nd

of 188 countries

All-time high

89.7%

in 2022

All-time low

79.8%

in 2000

Years of data

2000–2024

Using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000–2024

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo is 89.7%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is up 4.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 89.7% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 79.8%, in 2000.

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 182nd of 188 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
2000s	81.8%	79.8%	83.8%	10
2010s	86.3%	84.3%	88.3%	10
2020s	89.4%	88.8%	89.7%	5

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

179 Chad 91.3% compare
180 Guinea-Bissau 91.1% compare
181 Somalia 90.2% compare
183 Papua New Guinea 89.4% compare
184 South Sudan 87.4% compare
185 Madagascar 86.5% compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More environment data for Democratic Republic of Congo

Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 58.49 Mt CO2e (2024)
Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.5353 t CO2e/capita (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 3.5 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 7.67 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 17.49 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0166 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 42.16 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0035 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.024 Mt CO2e (2024)
Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 13.45 Mt CO2e (2024)

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo?: Using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population in Democratic Republic of Congo was 89.7% 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 using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?: The highest recorded value was 89.7% in 2022.
What is the lowest using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?: The lowest recorded value was 79.8% in 2000.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population?: Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 182nd out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
Is using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?: Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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 Using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population. 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

Indicator: Using improved water sources: urban vs. rural population
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: 188 places, 4,631 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Proportion of people who use an improved drinking water source, regardless of collection time. An improved drinking water source is a safely designed drinking water source and includes e.g. piped water, boreholes or tubewells and packaged or delivered water.