2026-08-20 · people
One in four lack safely managed drinking water
Pipes, treatment, and reliability — not just a nearby tap.
One in four people worldwide — about 2.2 billion — lack safely managed drinking water: piped, treated, and reliable, not just a nearby tap. WHO/UNICEF JMP 2026 estimates put 73% of the world's 8.2 billion people at safely managed service; the remaining 27% rely on basic or unimproved sources. Where that bar isn't met, households pay in health and time.
1 cell = 8.2 million people (0.1% of world population) · 1,000 cells
Context
Safely managed drinking water is the highest service level the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme tracks: an improved source on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination. A nearby tap or protected well can count as basic service and still fall short of that bar.
The estimates pool national household surveys and censuses into comparable global figures, and the JMP also breaks the picture down by wealth quintile, sub-national region, affordability, and gender.
Because 73% is a global average, it blends countries where safely managed water is close to universal with those where basic or unimproved sources remain common — one share covering very different daily realities.
WHO / UNICEF JMP drinking water.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-08-20-water-access