Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Malawi
Malawi: Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas was 52.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Malawi, 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 Malawi stood at 52.4%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Malawi peaked at 52.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 36.6%, in 2000.
That places Malawi 75th out of 105 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 39.8% | 36.6% | 42.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 46.9% | 43.7% | 50.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.9% | 50.8% | 52.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 19.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.8785 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.42 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7527 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.9 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0074 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 9.34 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0087 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Malawi?
- Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Malawi was 52.4% 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 Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 52.4% in 2024.
- What is the lowest using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.6% in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas?
- Malawi ranks 75th out of 105 countries with data for 2024.
- Is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi 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 faecal and priority chemical contamination.