Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Uganda

Uganda: Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas was 80.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
80.0%
Change on year
up 0.5%
World rank
177th
of 188 countries
All-time high
80.0%
in 2024
All-time low
69.9%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Uganda, 2000–2024

0204060802000201220242000: 69.9 %2001: 70.3 %2002: 70.8 %2003: 71.2 %2004: 71.6 %2005: 72 %2006: 72.4 %2007: 72.8 %2008: 73.3 %2009: 73.7 %2010: 74.1 %2011: 74.5 %2012: 74.9 %2013: 75.3 %2014: 75.8 %2015: 76.2 %2016: 76.6 %2017: 77 %2018: 77.4 %2019: 77.9 %2020: 78.3 %2021: 78.7 %2022: 79.1 %2023: 79.6 %2024: 80 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Uganda is 80.0%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.5% on the previous year and up 5.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Uganda peaked at 80.0% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 69.9%, in 2000.

Uganda ranks 177th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 71.8% 69.9% 73.7% 10
2010s 76.0% 74.1% 77.9% 10
2020s 79.1% 78.3% 80.0% 5

Countries ranked near Uganda

  1. 174 Sierra Leone 81.7% compare
  2. 175 Cameroon 81.6% compare
  3. 176 Burkina Faso 81.5% compare
  4. 178 Sao Tome and Principe 79.3% compare
  5. 179 Madagascar 78.2% compare
  6. 180 Equatorial Guinea 78.1% compare

See the full ranking of 188 places →

More environment data for Uganda

All data for Uganda →

Frequently asked questions

What is using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Uganda?
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas in Uganda was 80.0% 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 Uganda?
The highest recorded value was 80.0% in 2024.
What is the lowest using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas recorded in Uganda?
The lowest recorded value was 69.9% in 2000.
How does Uganda rank for using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas?
Uganda ranks 177th 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 Uganda?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Uganda 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

Indicator
Using at least basic drinking water sources in urban vs. rural areas
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
188 places, 4,631 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

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.