People using at least basic drinking water services, rural in Malawi
Malawi: People using at least basic drinking water services, rural was 70.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
People using at least basic drinking water services, rural in Malawi, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of rural population.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 70.1% for people using at least basic drinking water services, rural in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least basic drinking water services, rural in Malawi peaked at 70.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 48.7%, in 2000.
Malawi ranks 135th of 174 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
People using at least basic drinking water services, rural in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of rural population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 48.7% | — |
| 2001 | 49.6% | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 50.5% | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 51.4% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 52.3% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 53.2% | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 54.1% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 55.0% | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 55.9% | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 56.8% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 57.7% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 58.6% | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 59.5% | +1.5% |
| 2013 | 60.3% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 61.2% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 62.1% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 63.0% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 63.9% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 64.7% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 65.6% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 66.5% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 67.4% | +1.3% |
| 2022 | 68.2% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 69.2% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 70.1% | +1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 52.8% | 48.7% | 56.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 61.7% | 57.7% | 65.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 68.3% | 66.5% | 70.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More health data for Malawi
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8368 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.9312 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 856.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 6,399 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 1.08 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.2005 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 1.18 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0.0003 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.2007 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least basic drinking water services, rural in Malawi?
- People using at least basic drinking water services, rural in Malawi was 70.1% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO).
- What is the highest people using at least basic drinking water services, rural recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 70.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest people using at least basic drinking water services, rural recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.7% in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for people using at least basic drinking water services, rural?
- Malawi ranks 135th out of 174 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using at least basic drinking water services, rural rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO), published as part of People using at least basic drinking water services, rural (% of rural population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The percentage of people using at least basic water services. 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, protected dug wells, protected springs, and packaged or delivered water.