Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Laos
Laos: Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas was 100.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
100.0%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
1st
of 188 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 2023
All-time low
79.1%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Laos, 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 Laos stood at 100.0%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Laos peaked at 100.0% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 79.1%, in 2000.
Laos ranks 1st of 188 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
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 Laos, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 79.1% | — |
| 2001 | 80.0% | +1.1% |
| 2002 | 80.9% | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 81.8% | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 82.6% | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 83.5% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 84.4% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 85.3% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 86.1% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 87.0% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 87.9% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 88.7% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 89.6% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 90.5% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 91.4% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 92.2% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 93.1% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 94.0% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 94.8% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 95.7% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 97.6% | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 98.5% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 99.4% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 100.0% | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
Laos compared with similar countries
- Laos's 100.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 94.4%, 1.1× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Laos's 100.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.2%, 1.0× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 83.1% | 79.1% | 87.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 91.8% | 87.9% | 95.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.1% | 97.6% | 100.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Laos
- 1 Andorra 100.0% compare
- 1 Austria 100.0% compare
- 1 Belgium 100.0% compare
- 1 Bermuda 100.0% compare
- 1 Brazil 100.0% compare
- 1 Denmark 100.0% compare
- 1 Estonia 100.0% compare
- 1 Falkland Islands 100.0% compare
- 1 Finland 100.0% compare
- 1 France 100.0% compare
- 1 Germany 100.0% compare
- 1 Gibraltar 100.0% compare
- 1 Greece 100.0% compare
- 1 Hong Kong 100.0% compare
- 1 Hungary 100.0% compare
- 1 Iceland 100.0% compare
- 1 Israel 100.0% compare
- 1 Kuwait 100.0% compare
- 1 Lithuania 100.0% compare
- 1 Luxembourg 100.0% compare
- 1 Macao 100.0% compare
- 1 Malta 100.0% compare
- 1 Mauritius 100.0% compare
- 1 Mexico 100.0% compare
- 1 Monaco 100.0% compare
- 1 Netherlands 100.0% compare
- 1 New Zealand 100.0% compare
- 1 Norway 100.0% compare
- 1 Romania 100.0% compare
- 1 Saint Barthelemy 100.0% compare
- 1 Samoa 100.0% compare
- 1 San Marino 100.0% compare
- 1 Singapore 100.0% compare
- 1 Switzerland 100.0% compare
- 1 Thailand 100.0% compare
- 1 United Arab Emirates 100.0% compare
- 1 United Kingdom 100.0% compare
More environment data for Laos
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.77 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.51 Percentage change (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.23 % 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) 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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 5.19 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Laos?
- Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Laos was 100.0% 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 Laos?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2023.
- What is the lowest using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Laos?
- The lowest recorded value was 79.1% in 2000.
- How does Laos rank for using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas?
- Laos ranks 1st 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 Laos?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Laos 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.