Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Australia
Australia: Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas was 99.6% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Australia, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 99.6% for using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Australia peaked at 99.7% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 98.3%, in 2000.
Australia ranks 14th of 105 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 98.3% | — |
| 2001 | 98.3% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 98.3% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 98.4% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 98.6% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 98.7% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 98.8% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 99.1% | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 99.2% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 99.3% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 99.5% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 99.6% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 99.7% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 99.7% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 99.7% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2020 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 99.7% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 99.6% | -0.0% |
| 2024 | 99.6% | -0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 99.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 99.3%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Australia's 99.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 62.2%, 1.6× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 98.7% | 98.3% | 99.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 99.6% | 99.3% | 99.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.7% | 99.6% | 99.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % 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 0.0861 % 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 using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Australia?
- Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Australia was 99.6% 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 safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 99.7% in 2015.
- What is the lowest using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 98.3% in 2000.
- How does Australia rank for using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas?
- Australia ranks 14th out of 105 countries with data for 2024.
- Is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Australia 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 safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas. 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 using an improved drinking water source that is located on premises, available when needed and free from fecal and priority chemical contamination.