Share of urban population using at least basic water services in Uganda
Uganda: Share of urban population using at least basic water services was 80.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of urban population using at least basic water services in Uganda, 2000–2024
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 urban population using at least basic water services in Uganda stood at 80.0%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of urban population using at least basic water services in Uganda peaked at 80.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 69.9%, in 2000.
Uganda ranks 177th 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.
Share of urban population using at least basic water services in Uganda, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 69.9% | — |
| 2001 | 70.3% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 70.8% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 71.2% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 71.6% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 72.0% | +0.6% |
| 2006 | 72.4% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 72.8% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 73.3% | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 73.7% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 74.1% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 74.5% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 74.9% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 75.3% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 75.8% | +0.6% |
| 2015 | 76.2% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 76.6% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 77.0% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 77.4% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 77.9% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 78.3% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 78.7% | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 79.1% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 79.6% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 80.0% | +0.5% |
Uganda compared with similar countries
- Uganda's 80.0% is below the median for low income countries, which is 86.0%, 93% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Uganda's 80.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 87.8%, 91% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 71.8% | 69.9% | 73.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 76.0% | 74.1% | 77.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.1% | 78.3% | 80.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Uganda
- 174 Sierra Leone 81.7% compare
- 175 Cameroon 81.6% compare
- 176 Burkina Faso 81.5% compare
- 178 Sao Tome and Principe 79.3% compare
- 179 Madagascar 78.2% compare
- 180 Equatorial Guinea 78.1% compare
More environment data for Uganda
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -11.7 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -12.54 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.255 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.23 % 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 1.38 % 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 urban population using at least basic water services in Uganda?
- Share of urban population using at least basic water services in Uganda was 80.0% 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 Uganda?
- The highest recorded value was 80.0% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of urban population using at least basic water services recorded in Uganda?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.9% in 2000.
- How does Uganda rank for share of urban population using at least basic water services?
- Uganda ranks 177th out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of urban population using at least basic water services rising or falling in Uganda?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Uganda 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.