Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone: Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas was 81.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Sierra Leone, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Sierra Leone recorded 81.7% for using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Sierra Leone peaked at 81.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 66.9%, in 2000.
Sierra Leone ranks 174th 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 Sierra Leone, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 66.9% | — |
| 2001 | 67.5% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 68.1% | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 68.7% | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 69.3% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 69.9% | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 70.5% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 71.1% | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 71.7% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 72.3% | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 72.9% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 73.6% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 74.2% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 74.8% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 75.4% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 76.0% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 76.7% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 77.3% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 77.9% | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 78.5% | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 79.2% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 79.8% | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 80.4% | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 81.1% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 81.7% | +0.8% |
Sierra Leone compared with similar countries
- Sierra Leone's 81.7% is below the median for low income countries, which is 86.0%, 95% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sierra Leone's 81.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 87.8%, 93% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 69.6% | 66.9% | 72.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.7% | 72.9% | 78.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.4% | 79.2% | 81.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Sierra Leone
More environment data for Sierra Leone
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.232 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.28 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.72 % 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 1.11 % 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 at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Sierra Leone?
- Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Sierra Leone was 81.7% 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 Sierra Leone?
- The highest recorded value was 81.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Sierra Leone?
- The lowest recorded value was 66.9% in 2000.
- How does Sierra Leone rank for using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas?
- Sierra Leone ranks 174th 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 Sierra Leone?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sierra Leone 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.