Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka: Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas was 80.1% in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
80.1%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
45th
of 105 countries
All-time high
91.8%
in 2017
All-time low
80.1%
in 2023
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Sri Lanka, 2000–2024

0204060801002000201220242000: 86.5 %2001: 86.5 %2002: 86.5 %2003: 86.6 %2004: 86.6 %2005: 86.6 %2006: 87 %2007: 87.4 %2008: 87.9 %2009: 88.3 %2010: 88.7 %2011: 89.2 %2012: 89.6 %2013: 90 %2014: 90.5 %2015: 90.9 %2016: 91.3 %2017: 91.8 %2018: 91.7 %2019: 89.4 %2020: 87 %2021: 84.7 %2022: 82.4 %2023: 80.1 %2024: 80.1 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Sri Lanka recorded 80.1% for using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 25 years on record.

The figure is down 11.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Sri Lanka peaked at 91.8% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 80.1%, in 2023.

Sri Lanka ranks 45th of 105 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 87.0% 86.5% 88.3% 10
2010s 90.3% 88.7% 91.8% 10
2020s 82.9% 80.1% 87.0% 5

Countries ranked near Sri Lanka

  1. 42 Serbia 81.6% compare
  2. 43 Kyrgyzstan 81.0% compare
  3. 44 Costa Rica 80.4% compare
  4. 46 Honduras 78.4% compare
  5. 47 North Korea 77.0% compare
  6. 48 Eswatini 76.9% compare

See the full ranking of 105 places →

More environment data for Sri Lanka

All data for Sri Lanka →

Frequently asked questions

What is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Sri Lanka?
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Sri Lanka was 80.1% 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 Sri Lanka?
The highest recorded value was 91.8% in 2017.
What is the lowest using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Sri Lanka?
The lowest recorded value was 80.1% in 2023.
How does Sri Lanka rank for using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas?
Sri Lanka ranks 45th out of 105 countries with data for 2024.
Is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Sri Lanka 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

Indicator
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
105 places, 2,610 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.