Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Ethiopia
Ethiopia: Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas was 83.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Ethiopia, 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 at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Ethiopia stood at 83.5%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Ethiopia peaked at 83.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 76.6%, in 2000.
Ethiopia ranks 172nd of 188 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Ethiopia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 76.6% | — |
| 2001 | 76.9% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 77.2% | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 77.5% | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 77.7% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 78.0% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 78.3% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 78.6% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 78.9% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 79.2% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 79.5% | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 79.7% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 80.0% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 80.3% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 80.6% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 80.9% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 81.2% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 81.5% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 81.7% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 82.0% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 82.3% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 82.6% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 82.9% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 83.2% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 83.5% | +0.3% |
Ethiopia compared with similar countries
- Ethiopia's 83.5% is below the median for low income countries, which is 86.0%, 97% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Ethiopia's 83.5% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 87.8%, 95% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 77.9% | 76.6% | 79.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.7% | 79.5% | 82.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 82.9% | 82.3% | 83.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Ethiopia
More environment data for Ethiopia
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.272 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.39 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.2 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) -100 % change on previous year (2012)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e), annual 1.74 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Ethiopia?
- Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Ethiopia was 83.5% 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 at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Ethiopia?
- The highest recorded value was 83.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Ethiopia?
- The lowest recorded value was 76.6% in 2000.
- How does Ethiopia rank for using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas?
- Ethiopia ranks 172nd out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
- Is using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas rising or falling in Ethiopia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Ethiopia 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 at least basic drinking water sources 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 who use an improved drinking water source, which is either located on their premises, or at a collection point, which takes no more than 30 minutes for a roundtrip.