Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Zambia
Zambia: Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas was 50.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Zambia, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 50.2% for using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Zambia peaked at 53.1% in 2013 and was at its lowest, 43.8%, in 2000.
That places Zambia 80th out of 105 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 47.0% | 43.8% | 50.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 52.2% | 50.9% | 53.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 50.8% | 50.2% | 51.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 77 Cote d'Ivoire 51.5% compare
- 78 Tonga 50.9% compare
- 79 Laos 50.9% compare
- 81 Mozambique 47.5% compare
- 82 Dominican Republic 46.9% compare
- 83 Turks and Caicos Islands 46.5% compare
More environment data for Zambia
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 38.52 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 1.81 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 6.39 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 2.21 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 8.56 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0539 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 18.28 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0026 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0155 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.04 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Zambia?
- Using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas in Zambia was 50.2% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 53.1% in 2013.
- What is the lowest using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 43.8% in 2000.
- How does Zambia rank for using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas?
- Zambia ranks 80th out of 105 countries with data for 2024.
- Is using safely managed drinking water in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.