Binh thanh district, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam Photo by Anh Vy on Unsplash
- The percentage of global population using at least a basic drinking water service rose from 81 to 89% between 2000 and 2015
- 3 out of 10 (2.1 billion; 29% global population) did not have a safely managed drinking water service in 2015
- 844 million still lacked even a basic drinking water service
- Water-related deaths impact thousands and costs billions
Average annual impact from inadequate drinking water and sanitation services, water-related disasters. Adapted from WWAP (UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme). 2019. The United NationsWorld Water Development Report 2019: Leaving No One Behind. Paris, UNESCO
In 2015, an estimated 2.1 billion people lacked access to safely managed drinking water services and 4.5 billion lacked access to safely managed sanitation services. (WWAP)
Almost half of people drinking water from unprotected sources live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the burden of collecting water lies mainly on women and girls, many of whom spend more than 30 minutes on each trip to collect water. (WWAP)
Proportion of population using at least basic drinking water services, 2015
Source: WWAP (UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme). 2019. The United NationsWorld Water Development Report 2019: Leaving No One Behind. Paris, UNESCO
Sanitation
- Worldwide, only 2.9 billion people (39% of global population) used safely managed sanitation services in 2015. 40% of these people lived in rural areas.
- 2.1 billion people had access to “basic” sanitation services.
- 2.3 billion (one out of every three people) lacked even a basic sanitation service—nearly 1 billion people (892 million) still practiced open defecation.
Global and regional sanitation coverage, 2015. Source: The United Nations World Water Development Report 2019: Leaving No One Behind. Paris, UNESCO, 2019.
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