People using at least basic drinking water services in Malawi
Malawi: People using at least basic drinking water services was 73.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
People using at least basic drinking water services in Malawi, 2000–2024
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO). Measured in % of population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for people using at least basic drinking water services in Malawi is 73.1%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 12.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, people using at least basic drinking water services in Malawi peaked at 73.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 54.1%, in 2000.
Malawi ranks 188th of 214 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 57.7% | 54.1% | 61.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.6% | 62.1% | 69.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 71.4% | 69.9% | 73.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More health data for Malawi
- Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 281,167 (2025)
- Age population, age 15, male, interpolated 273,176 (2025)
- Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 276,241 (2025)
- Age population, age 14, male, interpolated 276,497 (2025)
- Age population, age 14, female, interpolated 278,971 (2025)
- Age population, age 13, male, interpolated 279,081 (2025)
- Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 283,499 (2025)
- Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 284,911 (2025)
- Age population, age 11, male, interpolated 283,873 (2025)
- Age population, age 16, female, interpolated 272,702 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is people using at least basic drinking water services in Malawi?
- People using at least basic drinking water services in Malawi was 73.1% 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 recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 73.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest people using at least basic drinking water services recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.1% in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for people using at least basic drinking water services?
- Malawi ranks 188th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is people using at least basic drinking water services rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.1%. 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 (% of 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.