Improved water source (% of population with access)

Definition: Access to an improved water source refers to the percentage of the population with reasonable access to an adequate amount of water from an improved source, such as a household connection, public standpipe, borehole, protected well or spring, and rainwater collection. Unimproved sources include vendors, tanker trucks, and unprotected wells and springs. Reasonable access is defined as the availability of at least 20 liters a person a day from a source within one kilometer of the dwelling.

Description: The map below shows how Improved water source (% of population with access) varies by country. The shade of the country corresponds to the magnitude of the indicator. The darker the shade, the higher the value. The country with the highest value in the world is Switzerland, with a value of 100.00. The country with the lowest value in the world is Somalia, with a value of 29.00.

Source: World Health Organization and United Nations Children's Fund, Joint Measurement Programme (JMP) (http://www.wssinfo.org/).

See also: Country ranking, Time series comparison

More maps: Africa | Asia | Central America & the Caribbean | Europe | Middle East | North America | Oceania | South America | World |