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
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Sri Lanka, 2000–2024
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.
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 86.5% | — |
| 2001 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 86.6% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 86.6% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 86.6% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 87.0% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 87.4% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 87.9% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 88.3% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 88.7% | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 89.2% | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 89.6% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 90.0% | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 90.5% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 90.9% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 91.3% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 91.8% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 91.7% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 89.4% | -2.5% |
| 2020 | 87.0% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 84.7% | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 82.4% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 80.1% | -2.8% |
| 2024 | 80.1% | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 80.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 75.7%, 1.1× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 80.1% is above the median for South Asia, which is 61.5%, 1.3× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
- 42 Serbia 81.6% compare
- 43 Kyrgyzstan 81.0% compare
- 44 Costa Rica 80.4% compare
- 46 Honduras 78.4% compare
- 47 North Korea 77.0% compare
- 48 Eswatini 76.9% compare
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.849 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 5.63 % 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 1.22 % 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 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
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.