People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa

South Africa: People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) was 100.0% in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
100.0%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
1st
of 97 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 2017
All-time low
94.7%
in 2000
Years of data
18
2000–2017

People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa, 2000–2017

0204060801002000200820172000: 94.72001: 94.72002: 95.12003: 95.42004: 95.82005: 96.12006: 96.52007: 96.82008: 97.22009: 97.52010: 97.82011: 98.22012: 98.52013: 98.92014: 99.22015: 99.62016: 99.92017: 100

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org).

Analysis

The most recent figure for people using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa is 100.0%, measured in 2017. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa peaked at 100.0% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 94.7%, in 2000.

South Africa ranks 1st of 97 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.

People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of urban population): Q4 in South Africa, 2000 to 2017.
Year Value Change
2000 94.7%
2001 94.7% +0.0%
2002 95.1% +0.4%
2003 95.4% +0.4%
2004 95.8% +0.4%
2005 96.1% +0.4%
2006 96.5% +0.4%
2007 96.8% +0.4%
2008 97.2% +0.4%
2009 97.5% +0.4%
2010 97.8% +0.4%
2011 98.2% +0.4%
2012 98.5% +0.4%
2013 98.9% +0.4%
2014 99.2% +0.4%
2015 99.6% +0.3%
2016 99.9% +0.3%
2017 100.0% +0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 96.0% 94.7% 97.5% 10
2010s 99.0% 97.8% 100.0% 8

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 1 Armenia 100.0% compare
  2. 1 Barbados 100.0% compare
  3. 1 Costa Rica 100.0% compare
  4. 1 Lao People's Democratic Republic 100.0% compare
  5. 1 Maldives 100.0% compare
  6. 1 Turkmenistan 100.0% compare
  7. 1 Uruguay 100.0% compare
  8. 1 Palestine, State of 100.0% compare

See the full ranking of 97 places →

More health data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is people using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa?
People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa was 100.0% in 2017, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org).
What is the highest people using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2017.
What is the lowest people using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 94.7% in 2000.
How does South Africa rank for people using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of)?
South Africa ranks 1st out of 97 countries with data for 2017.
Is people using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org), published as part of People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of urban population): Q4. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org). Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/people-using-at-least-basic-drinking-water-services-urban-percent-of-urban-population-q4/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/people-using-at-least-basic-drinking-water-services-urban-percent-of-urban-population-q4/south-africa/">People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of) in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of urban population): Q4
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
97 places, 1,663 data points, 2000–2017
Last refreshed