Countries by People using at least basic drinking water services, rural (% of rural population)

Thirty-two countries, including Australia, Germany, the United States, and Brazil, score a perfect 100% on rural access to at least basic drinking water services. At the opposite end, the Democratic Republic of Congo ranks last at just 13.82%, leaving the gap between the best and worst performers at more than 86 percentage points. That spread across 174 countries reflects the scale of inequality in rural water access worldwide.

Population & Health category

Ranking 2024

Values shown in %.

Countries by People using at least basic drinking water services, rural (% of rural population)
Rank	Country	%
1	Andorra	100.00
1	Armenia	100.00
1	Australia	100.00
1	Austria	100.00
1	Belgium	100.00
1	Brazil	100.00
1	Denmark	100.00
1	Estonia	100.00
1	Finland	100.00
1	France	100.00
1	Germany	100.00
1	Greece	100.00
1	Greenland	100.00
1	Hungary	100.00
1	Iceland	100.00
1	Israel	100.00
1	Luxembourg	100.00
1	Malta	100.00
1	Netherlands	100.00
1	New Zealand	100.00
1	Norway	100.00
1	Romania	100.00
1	San Marino	100.00
1	Slovakia	100.00
1	Spain	100.00
1	Switzerland	100.00
1	Thailand	100.00
1	Turkmenistan	100.00
1	United Arab Emirates	100.00
1	United Kingdom	100.00
1	United States	100.00
1	Palestine	100.00
33	Maldives	99.92
34	Tuvalu	99.90
35	Belarus	99.88
36	Mauritius	99.88
37	Croatia	99.85
38	Lithuania	99.74
39	Ukraine	99.70
40	Cyprus	99.70
41	Saudi Arabia	99.65
42	Costa Rica	99.65
43	Sweden	99.55
44	Montenegro	99.48
45	Samoa	99.32
46	Bhutan	99.30
47	Paraguay	99.11
48	Palau	99.09
49	Trinidad and Tobago	98.99
50	Antigua and Barbuda	98.98
51	Bangladesh	98.80
52	Tonga	98.57
53	Latvia	98.55
54	Czechia	98.52
55	Vietnam	98.48
56	Canada	98.46
57	Saint Lucia	98.24
58	North Macedonia	98.09
59	Ireland	97.98
60	Jordan	97.82
61	Portugal	97.78
62	Kazakhstan	97.60
63	Bulgaria	97.51
64	Mexico	97.47
65	Bosnia and Herzegovina	97.33
66	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	96.99
67	Dominica	96.62
68	Suriname	96.57
69	Uzbekistan	96.44
70	Egypt	96.27
71	Guyana	95.71
72	Uruguay	95.30
73	Serbia	95.29
74	Malaysia	95.20
75	India	94.91
76	Iraq	94.83
77	Dominican Republic	94.82
78	Iran	94.79
79	Azerbaijan	94.74
80	Türkiye	94.50
81	Albania	94.09
82	Nepal	94.02
83	Marshall Islands	93.90
84	China	93.83
85	Georgia	93.69
86	Chile	93.61
87	Philippines	93.59
88	Laos	93.23
89	Argentina	92.98
90	Tunisia	92.89
91	Kyrgyzstan	92.14
92	Syria	92.08
93	Cuba	91.89
94	Turks and Caicos Islands	91.79
95	Belize	91.30
96	Fiji	91.04
97	Honduras	90.32
98	Russia	90.29
99	Pakistan	89.31
100	Guatemala	89.16
101	North Korea	88.75
102	Moldova	88.70
103	Sri Lanka	88.43
104	Panama	87.79
105	Peru	87.34
106	Tajikistan	86.92
107	Cabo Verde	86.21
108	Algeria	84.94
109	Jamaica	84.09
110	Colombia	83.67
111	Vanuatu	83.54
112	Comoros	82.92
113	Timor-Leste	82.28
114	Poland	81.74
115	Ecuador	81.38
116	Myanmar	80.73
117	Morocco	80.63
118	Senegal	80.62
119	El Salvador	80.38
120	Indonesia	80.37
121	Mali	80.03
122	Cambodia	78.91
123	Bolivia	78.74
124	Gambia	78.40
125	Botswana	77.89
126	Ghana	76.28
127	Oman	76.25
128	Afghanistan	74.81
129	Eswatini	74.45
130	Namibia	74.32
131	Sao Tome and Principe	73.35
132	South Africa	72.97
133	Lesotho	70.64
134	Liberia	70.33
135	Malawi	70.10
136	Somalia	67.50
137	Nigeria	66.55
138	Yemen	65.86
139	Solomon Islands	64.53
140	Côte d'Ivoire	63.95
141	Kiribati	63.65
142	Mongolia	63.51
143	Benin	63.11
144	Djibouti	62.49
145	Guinea	62.25
146	Burundi	61.40
147	Sudan	59.64
148	Mauritania	58.81
149	Zambia	58.46
150	Togo	57.53
151	Sierra Leone	57.03
152	Uganda	56.60
153	Cameroon	56.25
154	Kenya	55.59
155	Rwanda	55.56
156	Haiti	54.75
157	Zimbabwe	54.38
158	Guinea-Bissau	52.58
159	Mozambique	51.87
160	Tanzania	51.29
161	Gabon	49.11
162	Papua New Guinea	48.29
163	Ethiopia	46.95
164	Niger	46.38
165	Republic of Congo	44.20
166	Chad	43.80
167	Madagascar	39.30
168	Angola	36.91
169	Burkina Faso	34.37
170	South Sudan	32.50
171	Equatorial Guinea	30.78
172	Eritrea	27.80
173	Central African Republic	27.37
174	DR Congo	13.82

Analysis

This metric measures the percentage of rural residents using at least basic drinking water services, expressed as a share of the rural population. According to the World Bank World Development Indicators (indicator code SH.H2O.BASW.RU.ZS), the indicator covers both people using basic water services and those using safely managed water services. Basic drinking water services is defined as drinking water from an improved source, provided collection time is not more than 30 minutes for a round trip. Improved water sources include piped water, boreholes or tubewells, protected springs, and similar infrastructure. The dataset covers 174 countries, with 170 of 174 countries (97.7%) reporting data from within the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints classified as official. Ten extreme outliers were identified using a 3-standard-deviation threshold. The data year is 2024.

At the top of the ranking, 32 countries hold a perfect score of 100%, spanning high-income economies such as France (rank 1), Germany (rank 1), and the United States (rank 1), alongside countries like Brazil (rank 1), Thailand (rank 1), Romania (rank 1), and Turkmenistan (rank 1). Just below the ceiling, Belarus ranks 35th at 99.88%, Mauritius ranks 36th at 99.88%, and Croatia ranks 37th at 99.85%. Countries in this tier generally have small rural populations relative to their total population or have well-developed national water infrastructure. Bangladesh ranks 51st at 98.80%, a notably high placement for a densely populated lower-middle-income country.

The middle of the ranking reveals a wide range of outcomes. India ranks 75th at 94.91%, China ranks 84th at 93.83%, and the Philippines rank 87th at 93.59%. Poland ranks 114th at 81.74%, which places it lower than Morocco (rank 117, 80.63%) and Senegal (rank 118, 80.62%), a counterintuitive result given Poland's overall development level. In the lower tier, Nigeria ranks 137th at 66.55%, Chad ranks 166th at 43.80%, and South Sudan ranks 170th at 32.50%. Eritrea ranks 172nd at 27.80% and the Central African Republic ranks 173rd at 27.37%, just above the Democratic Republic of Congo at rank 174 with 13.82%. Ten countries were flagged as extreme outliers under the 3-sigma threshold, suggesting some values sit far outside the typical distribution.

This metric captures access to at least basic water services but does not distinguish between basic and safely managed water. A household collecting water within 30 minutes from an uncontaminated borehole and one with a direct household connection both count toward this indicator, obscuring differences in service quality. Rural population definitions vary by country, which can affect comparability. Countries with very small rural populations may achieve high scores more easily than those with large, dispersed rural communities. Reporting relies on national household surveys and administrative data, and survey frequency varies, meaning some country values may reflect conditions from several years prior even within a broadly recent dataset.

Methodology

Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SH.H2O.BASW.RU.ZS, with a reference year of 2024. The metric is defined as the percentage of the rural population using at least basic drinking water services. Per the source definition, this indicator encompasses both people using basic water services as well as those using safely managed water services. Basic drinking water services is defined as drinking water from an improved source, provided collection time is not more than 30 minutes for a round trip. Improved water sources include piped water, boreholes or tubewells, and related infrastructure. The ranking covers 174 countries, exceeding the 80-country coverage threshold. Of these, 170 of 174 countries (97.7%) report data from within the last seven years, and 168 of 174 (96.6%) report data from the latest reference year. All 100% of datapoints are classified as official sources. Ten extreme outliers were detected using a 3-standard-deviation threshold. The average year-over-year change is 0.9%, well within the 50% volatility threshold. Values range from 13.82% (DR Congo) to 100% (32 countries), a spread of 623.4%.

Sources

World Bank