People using safely managed drinking water services, rural in Malawi

Malawi: People using safely managed drinking water services, rural was 10.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
10.4%
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
75th
of 85 countries
All-time high
10.4%
in 2024
All-time low
1.9%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

People using safely managed drinking water services, rural in Malawi, 2000–2024

2468102000201220242000: 1.9 % of rural population2001: 2.1 % of rural population2002: 2.4 % of rural population2003: 2.7 % of rural population2004: 3 % of rural population2005: 3.3 % of rural population2006: 3.7 % of rural population2007: 4 % of rural population2008: 4.3 % of rural population2009: 4.7 % of rural population2010: 5.1 % of rural population2011: 5.4 % of rural population2012: 5.8 % of rural population2013: 6.2 % of rural population2014: 6.6 % of rural population2015: 7 % of rural population2016: 7.4 % of rural population2017: 7.8 % of rural population2018: 8.3 % of rural population2019: 8.7 % of rural population2020: 9.2 % of rural population2021: 9.6 % of rural population2022: 10.1 % of rural population2023: 10.2 % of rural population2024: 10.4 % of rural population

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 10.4% for people using safely managed 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 57.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, people using safely managed drinking water services, rural in Malawi peaked at 10.4% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 2000.

That places Malawi 75th out of 85 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

People using safely managed drinking water services, rural in Malawi, year by year

Annual values for People using safely managed drinking water services, rural (% of rural population) in Malawi, 2000 to 2024.
Year % of rural population Change
2000 1.9%
2001 2.1% +14.8%
2002 2.4% +13.4%
2003 2.7% +12.2%
2004 3.0% +11.2%
2005 3.3% +10.4%
2006 3.7% +9.7%
2007 4.0% +9.1%
2008 4.3% +8.5%
2009 4.7% +8.1%
2010 5.1% +7.7%
2011 5.4% +7.3%
2012 5.8% +7.0%
2013 6.2% +6.7%
2014 6.6% +6.4%
2015 7.0% +6.2%
2016 7.4% +5.9%
2017 7.8% +5.7%
2018 8.3% +5.5%
2019 8.7% +5.4%
2020 9.2% +5.2%
2021 9.6% +5.0%
2022 10.1% +4.9%
2023 10.2% +1.4%
2024 10.4% +1.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 3.2% 1.9% 4.7% 10
2010s 6.8% 5.1% 8.7% 10
2020s 9.9% 9.2% 10.4% 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 72 Zimbabwe 10.9% compare
  2. 73 Madagascar 10.5% compare
  3. 74 Gambia 10.4% compare
  4. 76 Uganda 9.8% compare
  5. 77 Sierra Leone 9.6% compare
  6. 78 Togo 9.0% compare

See the full ranking of 112 places →

More health data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is people using safely managed drinking water services, rural in Malawi?
People using safely managed drinking water services, rural in Malawi was 10.4% 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 safely managed drinking water services, rural recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 10.4% in 2024.
What is the lowest people using safely managed drinking water services, rural recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 2000.
How does Malawi rank for people using safely managed drinking water services, rural?
Malawi ranks 75th out of 85 countries with data for 2024.
Is people using safely managed drinking water services, rural rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 57.3%. 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 safely managed drinking water services, rural (% of rural population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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People using safely managed drinking water services, rural in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/people-using-safely-managed-drinking-water-services-rural-percent-of-rural-population/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator
People using safely managed drinking water services, rural (% of rural population)
Unit
% of rural population
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
112 places, 2,731 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

The percentage of people using drinking water from an improved source that is accessible on premises, available when needed and free from fecal and priority chemical contamination. Improved water sources include piped water, boreholes or tubewells, protected dug wells, protected springs, and packaged or delivered water.