Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in China
China: Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas was 96.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in China, 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, using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in China stood at 96.4%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in China peaked at 96.4% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 91.2%, in 2010.
That places China 25th out of 105 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in China, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 91.7% | — |
| 2001 | 91.7% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 91.6% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 91.6% | -0.1% |
| 2004 | 91.5% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 91.5% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 91.4% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 91.4% | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 91.3% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 91.3% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 91.2% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 91.6% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 92.0% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 92.4% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 92.8% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 93.2% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 93.6% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 94.0% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 94.4% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 94.8% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 95.2% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 95.6% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 96.0% | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 96.4% | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 96.4% | +0.0% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 96.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 75.7%, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- China's 96.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 62.2%, 1.5× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 91.5% | 91.3% | 91.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 93.0% | 91.2% | 94.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.0% | 95.2% | 96.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More environment data for China
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.279 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.92 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 5.29 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8065 % 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 -0.2517 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in China?
- Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in China was 96.4% 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 using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 96.4% in 2023.
- What is the lowest using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 91.2% in 2010.
- How does China rank for using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas?
- China ranks 25th out of 105 countries with data for 2024.
- Is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China 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.