Safely managed drinking water — all countries

Safely managed drinking water — World

Safely managed drinking water in the world in 2024 — 73.7%. Since 2000, the indicator has risen by 12.4 pp.

2024 73.7% +1.7 pp vs 2023
World rank
Period maximum 73.7%2024
Period minimum 61.2%2000

Trend over time

2000–2024 · % of population

Safely managed drinking water — World, 2000–2024606570752000200320062009201220152018202120242000: 61.2%2001: 61.5%2002: 61.8%2003: 62.1%2004: 62.5%2005: 62.8%2006: 63.1%2007: 63.4%2008: 63.8%2009: 64.3%2010: 64.8%2011: 65.3%2012: 65.9%2013: 66.5%2014: 67.1%2015: 67.7%2016: 68.2%2017: 68.8%2018: 69.4%2019: 69.9%2020: 70.5%2021: 71%2022: 71.5%2023: 72%2024: 73.7%
Change over the period: +12.4 pp Annual average: 0.52 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: World

World 73.7%
World 73.7%
Safely managed drinking water — World, by year World All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 73.7 +1.7 pp
2023 72 +0.5 pp
2022 71.5 +0.5 pp
2021 71 +0.5 pp
2020 70.5 +0.5 pp
2019 69.9 +0.6 pp
2018 69.4 +0.6 pp
2017 68.8 +0.6 pp
2016 68.2 +0.6 pp
2015 67.7 +0.6 pp
2014 67.1 +0.6 pp
2013 66.5 +0.6 pp
2012 65.9 +0.6 pp
2011 65.3 +0.5 pp
2010 64.8 +0.5 pp
2009 64.3 +0.5 pp
2008 63.8 +0.3 pp
2007 63.4 +0.3 pp
2006 63.1 +0.3 pp
2005 62.8 +0.4 pp
2004 62.5 +0.3 pp
2003 62.1 +0.3 pp
2002 61.8 +0.3 pp
2001 61.5 +0.2 pp
2000 61.2

About the indicator

The share of the population with safely managed drinking water — the top rung of the WHO and UNICEF ladder. Three requirements at once: the source is improved and located in the dwelling or on the plot, water is available when it is needed, and it is free of contamination. It is this indicator that is written into Sustainable Development Goal 6.1, whereas the better-known “basic access” requires only an improved source within half an hour's walk — the gap between the two measures in some countries exceeds forty percentage points.

Important: Stricter than basic access on three counts at once. There are fewer territories than for the basic indicator: testing for contamination requires laboratory data, which are not available everywhere.

Source: Global Health Observatory (WHO), license CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.