Share of urban population using at least basic water services in Democratic Republic of Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of urban population using at least basic water services was 59.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of urban population using at least basic water services 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 share of urban population using at least basic water services in Democratic Republic of Congo is 59.3%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of urban population using at least basic water services in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 70.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 59.3%, in 2022.
That places Democratic Republic of Congo 187th out of 188 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 68.7% | 66.6% | 70.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 63.7% | 61.1% | 66.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 59.7% | 59.3% | 60.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo
- 184 Togo 73.6% compare
- 185 Guinea-Bissau 72.7% compare
- 186 South Sudan 66.1% compare
- 188 Central African Republic 48.1% compare
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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of urban population using at least basic water services in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Share of urban population using at least basic water services in Democratic Republic of Congo was 59.3% 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 urban population using at least basic water services recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The highest recorded value was 70.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of urban population using at least basic water services recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- The lowest recorded value was 59.3% in 2022.
- How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of urban population using at least basic water services?
- Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 187th out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of urban population using at least basic water services rising or falling in Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Share of urban population using at least basic water services. 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 who use an improved drinking water source, which is either located on their premises, or at a collection point, which takes no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.