Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Tanzania
Tanzania: Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas was 86.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Tanzania, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Tanzania recorded 86.2% 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 0.9% on the previous year and up 9.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Tanzania peaked at 86.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 67.9%, in 2000.
Tanzania ranks 164th 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 Tanzania, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 67.9% | — |
| 2001 | 68.7% | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 69.5% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 70.4% | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 71.1% | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 71.9% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 72.7% | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 73.4% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 74.2% | +1.0% |
| 2009 | 74.9% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 75.7% | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 76.5% | +1.0% |
| 2012 | 77.2% | +1.0% |
| 2013 | 78.0% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 78.7% | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 79.5% | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 80.2% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 81.0% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 81.7% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 82.5% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 83.2% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 84.0% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 84.7% | +0.9% |
| 2023 | 85.5% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 86.2% | +0.9% |
Tanzania compared with similar countries
- Tanzania's 86.2% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 94.4%, 91% of the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Tanzania's 86.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 87.8%, 98% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 71.5% | 67.9% | 74.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.1% | 75.7% | 82.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 84.7% | 83.2% | 86.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Tanzania
More environment data for Tanzania
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -7.29 Percentage change (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 4.22 % 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) -9.86 % 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 1.85 % 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 Tanzania?
- Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Tanzania was 86.2% 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 at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Tanzania?
- The highest recorded value was 86.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Tanzania?
- The lowest recorded value was 67.9% in 2000.
- How does Tanzania rank for using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas?
- Tanzania ranks 164th 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 Tanzania?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Tanzania 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.