4.7 / 5 ( 3 votes )

Today, giving their populations access to improved water sources has become the top most priority for governments around the world. The improved water sources comprise piped water on premises and other sources such as tube wells or boreholes, rainwater collection, public taps, protected springs and protected dug wells.

Many of the nations have been successful in providing their people with improved water sources. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), between the years 1990 and 2015, an estimated 2.6 billion people across the world gained access to safe drinking water. This is a major achievement, but there is still a significant population that does not have access to improved water sources for their drinking and other needs.

The unimproved water sources are surface water from dams, lakes and rivers and also from unprotected springs or dug wells. The disparity does not only exist between countries but also between people living in rural and urban areas. In 2015, according to the WHO data, an estimated 96 percent of the people living in urban areas had access to improved sources of water. In comparison, some 85 percent of those living in the rural areas had access to the same.

The World Health Organization data painted a positive picture with more than 85 percent urban people in a majority of nations having access to improved water sources. Many nations having either achieved the magical figure of 100 percent or provided an upward of 99 percent of the population with access to improved water sources in urban areas.

Armenia, Australia, Bahrain, Cambodia, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Japan, Qatar, and Niger were a few nations that had met the 100 percent mark. Belarus, Mauritius, South Korea, etc. were just 0.1 percent short of the magical figure. Other nations that had scored between 99 and 100 percent included the United States, Kazakhstan, UAE, South Africa, Bulgaria, Maldives and many others.

At the bottom of the World Health Organization data were Palestine and Mauritania where just 50.7 and 58.4 percent of the urban population, respectively, had access to improved water sources. Nations such as Haiti, Mongolia, and South Sudan fared slightly better with 64.9, 66.4, and 66.7 percent respectively. In all, there were 13 nations where between 71.8 percent and 84.9 percent of the urban population had access to improved water sources.

Refer to the table for information on the percentage of population in urban areas that had access to improved water sources in 2015.

Countries Population With Access to Improved Water Sources (%) American Samoa 100 Andorra 100 Armenia 100 Australia 100 Austria 100 Bahrain 100 Belgium 100 Cambodia 100 Canada 100 Cyprus 100 Czech Republic 100 Denmark 100 Egypt 100 Finland 100 France 100 French Polynesia 100 Georgia 100 Germany 100 Greece 100 Greenland 100 Hungary 100 Iceland 100 Israel 100 Italy 100 Japan 100 Luxembourg 100 Malaysia 100 Malta 100 Martinique 100 Monaco 100 Montenegro 100 Netherlands 100 New Zealand 100 Niger 100 Norway 100 Paraguay 100 Portugal 100 Qatar 100 Romania 100 Singapore 100 Slovakia 100 Spain 100 Sweden 100 Switzerland 100 Tunisia 100 Turkey 100 United Kingdom 100 Uruguay 100 Bhutan 100 United States Virgin Islands 100 Brazil 100 Estonia 100 Belarus 99.9 Mauritius 99.9 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 99.9 Cook Islands 99.9 Latvia 99.8 TFYR Macedonia 99.8 Republic of Korea 99.7 Barbados 99.7 Bosnia and Herzegovina 99.7 Tonga 99.7 Lithuania 99.7 Chile 99.7 Slovenia 99.7 Croatia 99.6 Bulgaria 99.6 South Africa 99.6 United Arab Emirates 99.6 Costa Rica 99.6 Fiji 99.5 Guam 99.5 Maldives 99.5 Saint Lucia 99.5 Kazakhstan 99.4 United States of America 99.4 Serbia 99.4 Guadeloupe 99.3 Nicaragua 99.3 Poland 99.3 Réunion 99.2 Botswana 99.2 Viet Nam 99.1 Montserrat 99 Kuwait 99 Grenada 99 Argentina 99 Lebanon 99 Sao Tome and Principe 98.9 Russian Federation 98.9 Vanuatu 98.9 Belize 98.9 Guinea-Bissau 98.8 Morocco 98.7 Sri Lanka 98.5 Uzbekistan 98.5 New Caledonia 98.5 Niue 98.4 Guatemala 98.4 Bahamas 98.4 Tuvalu 98.3 Saint Kitts and Nevis 98.3 Guyana 98.2 Namibia 98.2 Aruba 98.1 Suriname 98.1 Ireland 97.9 Antigua and Barbuda 97.9 Jordan 97.8 Panama 97.7 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 97.7 Thailand 97.6 Northern Mariana Islands 97.5 China 97.5 El Salvador 97.5 Jamaica 97.5 Samoa 97.5 Burkina Faso 97.5 Honduras 97.4 Djibouti 97.4 Cayman Islands 97.4 Gabon 97.2 Mexico 97.2 India 97.1 Saudi Arabia 97 Zimbabwe 97 Palau 97 Republic of Moldova 96.9 Colombia 96.8 Kyrgyzstan 96.7 Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 96.7 Mali 96.5 Nauru 96.5 Cuba 96.4 Congo 95.8 Dominica 95.7 Seychelles 95.7 Malawi 95.7 Ukraine 95.5 Uganda 95.5 Oman 95.5 Timor-Leste 95.2 Trinidad and Tobago 95.1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 95.1 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 95 Albania 94.9 Cameroon 94.8 Micronesia (Fed. States of) 94.8 Azerbaijan 94.7 Lesotho 94.6 Anguilla 94.6 Gambia 94.2 Indonesia 94.2 Cape Verde 94 Pakistan 93.9 Iraq 93.8 Philippines 93.7 Swaziland 93.6 Marshall Islands 93.5 Ecuador 93.4 Solomon Islands 93.2 Ethiopia 93.1 Côte d’Ivoire 93.1 Tajikistan 93.1 Senegal 92.9 Guinea 92.7 Myanmar 92.7 Ghana 92.6 Comoros 92.6 Syrian Arab Republic 92.3 Peru 91.4 Togo 91.4 Burundi 91.1 Nepal 90.9 Central African Republic 89.6 Liberia 88.6 Papua New Guinea 88 Kiribati 87.3 Rwanda 86.6 Bangladesh 86.5 Lao People’s Democratic Republic 85.6 Zambia 85.6 Dominican Republic 85.4 Benin 85.2 Sierra Leone 84.9 Algeria 84.3 Kenya 81.6 Madagascar 81.6 Democratic Republic of the Congo 81.1 Nigeria 80.8 Mozambique 80.6 Afghanistan 78.2 United Republic of Tanzania 77.2 Angola 75.4 Eritrea 73.2 Equatorial Guinea 72.5 Chad 71.8 South Sudan 66.7 Mongolia 66.4 Haiti 64.9 Mauritania 58.4 Palestine 50.7

Know more:

Related maps: