Historical chart and dataset showing U.S. clean water access by year from 2005 to 2022.

Close to three quarters of the global population had access to safely managed drinking water in 2022, increasing by four percentage points since 2015. Europe and North America was the region with the highest share at 94 percent, while it was lowest in Sub-Saharan Africa, reaching only 31 percent.

Historical chart and dataset showing France clean water access by year from 2000 to 2022.

In 2022, an estimated 91 percent of the world population had access to at least basic drinking water services. Access was highest in Europe and North America and Australia and New Zealand, with approximately 100 percent of both regions having access to at least basic drinking water services.

Access to safe drinking water

Improved drinking water refers to a source that can be adequately protected from outside contamination, mostly by fecal matter. An improved sanitation facility keeps human waste out of reach, for example, by using a flush toilet or a septic tank. These protected sources include rainwater, protected springs, and piped water into a dwelling. Global investments in water supply infrastructure are expected to increase.

Global water inequality

In most regions of the world, 90 percent of the population has access to at least basic drinking water services. However, just 65 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa and 60 percent of the population in Oceania had basic access in 2022. In sub-Saharan Africa, about 16 percent of people had access to unimproved water sources and eight percent only had access to surface waters. Unimproved water sources include bottled water and tanker-trucks. Currently, eight out of ten people living in rural areas still lack even basic drinking water services. A lack of access to safe water is considered one of the top risks based on impact to global societies.

Data show the share of the population having access to drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene by service type. Based on the WHO/UNICEF JMP, For drinking water, the service levels were ranked as safely managed, basic, limited, unimproved, and surface water. For sanitation, the service levels were classified as safely managed, basic, limited, unimproved, and open defecation. For hygiene referring to handwashing, the service levels were categorized as basic, limited, and no facility.

From 2015 through 2022, the population with access to safely managed drinking water services in Bhutan increased by ** percentage points. On the other hand, safe drinking water accessibility in Nepal dropped **** percentage points during the same period of time. Altogether, about ** percent of the world's population had access to safely managed drinking water services in 2022.

China % of Population with Access to Water: City data was reported at 99.433 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 99.387 % for 2022. China % of Population with Access to Water: City data is updated yearly, averaging 96.120 % from Dec 1985 (Median) to 2023, with 31 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 99.433 % in 2023 and a record low of 63.900 % in 2000. China % of Population with Access to Water: City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Utility Sector – Table CN.RCA: Percentage of Population with Access to Water.

Historical chart and dataset showing Singapore clean water access by year from 2000 to 2022.

In the Central African Republic and Chad, only six percent of the population has access to safely managed drinking water, making them the countries in the world where the lowest share of the population has access to clean drinking water. A high number of the countries on the list are located in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The average for 2022 based on 93 countries was 69.9 percent. The highest value was in France: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Tuvalu: 10.5 percent. The indicator is available from 2000 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This data is a visualization of estimated residences served by an improved water source in Appalachia Ohio using H3 hexagons at resolution 08, based on the results of the Appalachia Ohio Drinking Water Accessibility Initiative Summary Report prepared by Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service in 2022. Affected residences were estimated using publicly available Location Based Response System (LBRS) address points, filtered for residential structures. Use of the H3 hexagons allowed allowed for visualization of percentage of residences with water access, as well as areas without residences.Data Notes: Tuscarawas and Mahoning counties did not include structure type in their LBRS data and could not be filtered for residential structures.As LBRS data is self-reported by each county, the age of the address point data variedLearn more about LBRS here: https://das.ohio.gov/technology-and-strategy/ogrip/projects/lbrsLearn more about H3 Hexagons here: https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/bus-analyst/analytics/hexagons-guide-basics/Read the Appalachia Ohio Drinking Water Accessibility Initiative Summary Report here: https://www.mayorspartnership.org/drinking-water-report

The average for 2022 based on 8 countries was 93.6 percent. The highest value was in Hungary: 100 percent and the lowest value was in Romania: 66.7 percent. The indicator is available from 2000 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Access to safely managed drinking water was high in most of the countries in Europe and North America. However, there is still room for improvement in parts of the Balkans and Caucus region, with around 70 percent having access to clean drinking water in Georgia, Albania, and Azerbaijan. Europe and North America had the highest clean drinking water coverage worldwide.

Brazil: Percent urban population with access to drinking water: The latest value from 2022 is 88.9 percent, an increase from 88.4 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 69.9 percent, based on data from 93 countries. Historically, the average for Brazil from 2000 to 2022 is 84.6 percent. The minimum value, 82.8 percent, was reached in 2000 while the maximum of 88.9 percent was recorded in 2022.

Palestine: Percent rural population with access to drinking water: The latest value from 2022 is 76.4 percent, an increase from 76 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 45.0 percent, based on data from 73 countries. Historically, the average for Palestine from 2000 to 2022 is 72 percent. The minimum value, 67.5 percent, was reached in 2000 while the maximum of 76.4 percent was recorded in 2022.

In the fiscal year 2023, **** percent of the population in Japan had access to drinkable tap water from water services, following a slow but steady increase in the 2010s. Most of the tap water was supplied using waterworks, while a smaller amount was supplied with small-scale water supply systems as well as private water supply systems. Wastewater treatment in Japan Water pollution has become an environmental issue worldwide. Marine pollution is mainly caused by oil and waste, such as disposable plastic products. Therefore, wastewater treatment is essential to supply safe and drinkable water. The Japanese government strictly regulates tap water under the Water Supply Act enacted in 1957. In recent years, the share of population served by wastewater treatment systems increased to over ** percent. The majority of citizens were served by sewage lines.  Water consumption in Japan In recent years, the average daily water consumption volume per person in Japan stood at around *** liters. The Kanto region had the largest demand for water, likely because the metropolitan area of Tokyo is densely populated and represents one of the main industrial centers on the archipelago.

Historical chart and dataset showing World clean water access by year from 2000 to 2022.

Section 3

Survey instrument:

Section 2

Description and codebook for subset of harmonized variables:

Section 5

Survey instrument:

Section 11

Survey instrument:

Section 8

Survey instrument:

Section 15

Survey instrument:

Section 9

Survey instrument:

Section 4

Survey instrument:

Section 6

Survey instrument:

Section 13

Survey instrument:

Section 14

Survey instrument:

Documentation

Full Project Name: Happiness on Tap: Piped Water Adoption in Urban Morocco

PIs: Florencia Devoto, Esther Duflo, Pascaline Dupas, William Parienté, Vincent Pons

Unique ID: 93

Location: Tangiers, Morocco

Sample: 1,000 home owners in urban areas

Timeline: 2007 - 2008

Target Group: Urban population

Outcome of Interest: Citizen satisfaction, Diarrhea

Guide to Datasets:

Published Papers:

More Information: https://www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/household-water-connections-tangier-morocco

Section 10

Survey instrument:

Section 12

This dataset was created on 2021-10-06 18:54:24.290 by merging multiple datasets together. The source datasets for this version were:

Morocco Water Access:

Morocco Water Access Household Distance to Tap: distances_price_zones_anl : Contains information about the distance to the closest public tap and the pricing schedule for the BSI connection

Morocco Water Access Endline Household, Part 1: endline_ACD_hhid_anl : household survey data at endline from section A, C, and D in the survey instrument

Morocco Water Access Household Treatment Spillover: spillovers_anl : Contains information about the share of treatment households within 20 or 50 meters radius. Also contains information about whether households had gotten connected to the grid by August 2009

Morocco Water Access Baseline Illness Diary: suivimaladies_decembre07_corr_anl : illness diary data from December 2007

Morocco Water Access Baseline Household: baseline_menage_hhid_anl : baseline household survey

Morocco Water Access Endline Household, Part 2: endline_BDEFKLM_hhid_anl : household data at endline from survey sections B, D, E, F, K, L, and M

Section 7

This dataset was created on 2021-10-06 18:53:18.211 by merging multiple datasets together. The source datasets for this version were:

Morocco Water Access Baseline Age-Gender Reference: sexe_age_ref_anl : reference dataset for sex and age of each household member at baseline

Morocco Water Access Endline Education: education_endline_anl : data on whether children in household were registered for school at endline

Morocco Water Access Endline School Diary: scolarisation_endline_anl : children's school diary data at endline

Morocco Water Access Endline Illness Diary: suivimaladies_novembre08_corr_anl : illness diary data from endline November 2008

Section 16

This dataset was created on 2021-10-06 20:34:05.138 by merging multiple datasets together. The source datasets for this version were:

Morocco Water Access Baseline Household Roster: baseline_roster_hhid_anl : household roster from baseline survey

Morocco Water Access:

Morocco Water Access Endline Presence of E. Coli: endline_colis_anl : presence of e. coli in household water supply at endline

Morocco Water Access Treatment/ Control Groups: groupe_connexion_anl : Dataset with information about who is treatment and who is control, and whether those in the treatment groups got connected to the grid, and if so the date of the connection

Morocco Water Access Baseline School Diary: scolarisation_baseline_anl : children's school diary data at baseline

Morocco Water Access Midline 1 Illness Diary: suivimaladies_mai08_corr_anl : illness diary data from first followup after baseline in May 2008

Morocco Water Access Midline 2 Illness Diary: suivimaladies_aout08_corr_anl : illness diary data from second followup in August 2008

The proportion of the world's population with access to safely managed drinking water increased from 69 percent to 73 percent between 2015 and 2022. As of 2022, four percent of the world's population only had access to unimproved drinking water services. Unimproved drinking water comes from unprotected dug wells or unprotected springs. Regionally, Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania had the lowest share of populations with access to at least basic drinking water services.

Romania: Percent urban population with access to drinking water: The latest value from 2022 is 95 percent, unchanged from 95 percent in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 69.9 percent, based on data from 93 countries. Historically, the average for Romania from 2000 to 2022 is 95 percent. The minimum value, 95 percent, was reached in 2000 while the maximum of 95 percent was recorded in 2000.