Countries with the best drinking water, ranked
172 countries scored from 0 to 100 on how little healthy life their people lose to unsafe drinking water, best first, in 2024.
The score rates drinking water by its effect on health. It is based on the number of healthy years of life lost per 100,000 people from unsafe drinking water, and higher scores mean safer drinking water.
The table ranks 172 countries by their 2024 score. Seven countries share the top score of 100.0: Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Finland and Ireland. The chart shows the first ten places, which also include Norway, Luxembourg and Canada.
Key figures
Safe drinking water score by country, 2024
Rank 1= means a tie for first place. Scores run from 0 to 100, and higher is safer. The score is for drinking water only, not for sanitation. Eight countries the page lists at the foot without a score in the same order (including the United States) are left out.
| Rank | Country | Safe drinking water score (0 to 100) | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Germany | 100.0 | 2024 |
| 1= | United Kingdom | 100.0 | 2024 |
| 1= | Italy | 100.0 | 2024 |
| 1= | Greece | 100.0 | 2024 |
| 1= | Switzerland | 100.0 | 2024 |
| 1= | Finland | 100.0 | 2024 |
| 1= | Ireland | 100.0 | 2024 |
| 8 | Norway | 99.9 | 2024 |
| 9 | Luxembourg | 99.8 | 2024 |
| 10 | Canada | 99.7 | 2024 |
| 11 | Iceland | 99.4 | 2024 |
| 12= | Australia | 99.2 | 2024 |
| 12= | Austria | 99.2 | 2024 |
| 14 | Singapore | 98.7 | 2024 |
| 15 | Portugal | 97.6 | 2024 |
| 16 | Sweden | 97.4 | 2024 |
| 17 | Malta | 97.1 | 2024 |
| 18 | Spain | 95.7 | 2024 |
| 19 | Montenegro | 95.2 | 2024 |
| 20 | Belgium | 93.9 | 2024 |
| 21 | Israel | 93.8 | 2024 |
| 22 | Denmark | 93.4 | 2024 |
| 23 | Netherlands | 91.3 | 2024 |
| 24 | South Korea | 88.9 | 2024 |
| 25 | Cyprus | 88.8 | 2024 |
| 26 | Slovenia | 88.2 | 2024 |
| 27= | France | 87.6 | 2024 |
| 27= | Slovakia | 87.6 | 2024 |
| 29 | New Zealand | 85.7 | 2024 |
| 30 | Latvia | 83.4 | 2024 |
| 31 | Chile | 82.3 | 2024 |
| 32 | Estonia | 81.2 | 2024 |
| 33 | Serbia | 81.0 | 2024 |
| 34 | Croatia | 80.8 | 2024 |
| 35 | Russia | 79.6 | 2024 |
| 36 | Armenia | 79.4 | 2024 |
| 37 | Belarus | 79.2 | 2024 |
| 38 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 78.7 | 2024 |
| 39 | Poland | 77.8 | 2024 |
| 40 | Lithuania | 77.1 | 2024 |
| 41 | Uzbekistan | 76.8 | 2024 |
| 42 | Japan | 76.7 | 2024 |
| 43 | Georgia | 76.1 | 2024 |
| 44= | Ukraine | 75.9 | 2024 |
| 44= | Kazakhstan | 75.9 | 2024 |
| 46 | China | 75.7 | 2024 |
| 47 | Uruguay | 74.4 | 2024 |
| 48 | Kuwait | 73.6 | 2024 |
| 49 | Bulgaria | 73.2 | 2024 |
| 50 | Qatar | 72.9 | 2024 |
| 51 | Czechia | 72.8 | 2024 |
| 52 | Argentina | 72.2 | 2024 |
| 53 | Hungary | 71.4 | 2024 |
| 54= | Romania | 69.6 | 2024 |
| 54= | Albania | 69.6 | 2024 |
| 56 | North Macedonia | 69.4 | 2024 |
| 57 | Moldova | 68.8 | 2024 |
| 58 | Taiwan | 68.0 | 2024 |
| 59 | United Arab Emirates | 67.8 | 2024 |
| 60 | Iran | 67.5 | 2024 |
| 61 | Bahrain | 67.0 | 2024 |
| 62 | Jordan | 65.5 | 2024 |
| 63 | Ecuador | 64.5 | 2024 |
| 64 | Mongolia | 63.6 | 2024 |
| 65 | Mauritius | 63.4 | 2024 |
| 66 | Costa Rica | 62.7 | 2024 |
| 67 | Kyrgyzstan | 62.6 | 2024 |
| 68 | Oman | 62.4 | 2024 |
| 69= | Saudi Arabia | 61.9 | 2024 |
| 69= | Bahamas | 61.9 | 2024 |
| 71 | Algeria | 61.3 | 2024 |
| 72 | Turkmenistan | 61.0 | 2024 |
| 73= | Brazil | 60.1 | 2024 |
| 73= | Tunisia | 60.1 | 2024 |
| 75 | Colombia | 58.9 | 2024 |
| 76 | Paraguay | 58.3 | 2024 |
| 77 | Barbados | 58.1 | 2024 |
| 78 | Trinidad and Tobago | 57.8 | 2024 |
| 79 | Peru | 57.7 | 2024 |
| 80= | Mexico | 57.4 | 2024 |
| 80= | Iraq | 57.4 | 2024 |
| 82 | Cuba | 57.0 | 2024 |
| 83 | Antigua and Barbuda | 56.2 | 2024 |
| 84 | Lebanon | 55.8 | 2024 |
| 85 | Egypt | 54.3 | 2024 |
| 86 | Jamaica | 53.5 | 2024 |
| 87 | Grenada | 53.0 | 2024 |
| 88 | Saint Lucia | 52.1 | 2024 |
| 89 | Samoa | 51.9 | 2024 |
| 90 | Seychelles | 51.8 | 2024 |
| 91 | Sri Lanka | 51.4 | 2024 |
| 92 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 51.1 | 2024 |
| 93= | Malaysia | 50.9 | 2024 |
| 93= | El Salvador | 50.9 | 2024 |
| 95 | Azerbaijan | 49.8 | 2024 |
| 96= | Morocco | 49.5 | 2024 |
| 96= | Dominica | 49.5 | 2024 |
| 98 | Belize | 49.3 | 2024 |
| 99 | Panama | 49.2 | 2024 |
| 100 | Tonga | 49.1 | 2024 |
| 101 | Nicaragua | 48.7 | 2024 |
| 102 | Bolivia | 47.7 | 2024 |
| 103 | Venezuela | 47.1 | 2024 |
| 104 | Maldives | 45.2 | 2024 |
| 105 | Thailand | 44.6 | 2024 |
| 106 | Dominican Republic | 42.1 | 2024 |
| 107 | Guyana | 41.3 | 2024 |
| 108 | Suriname | 41.1 | 2024 |
| 109 | Sudan | 40.8 | 2024 |
| 110 | Cambodia | 40.7 | 2024 |
| 111 | Philippines | 40.4 | 2024 |
| 112 | Bhutan | 39.8 | 2024 |
| 113 | Micronesia | 39.3 | 2024 |
| 114 | Honduras | 38.7 | 2024 |
| 115 | Sao Tome and Principe | 38.5 | 2024 |
| 116 | Marshall Islands | 36.8 | 2024 |
| 117 | Myanmar | 36.2 | 2024 |
| 118 | Gabon | 35.3 | 2024 |
| 119 | Fiji | 35.1 | 2024 |
| 120= | Nepal | 34.7 | 2024 |
| 120= | Solomon Islands | 34.7 | 2024 |
| 122 | Equatorial Guinea | 34.4 | 2024 |
| 123 | Timor-Leste | 34.1 | 2024 |
| 124= | Afghanistan | 33.1 | 2024 |
| 124= | Tajikistan | 33.1 | 2024 |
| 124= | Laos | 33.1 | 2024 |
| 124= | Vanuatu | 33.1 | 2024 |
| 128 | Bangladesh | 32.6 | 2024 |
| 129= | Indonesia | 31.0 | 2024 |
| 129= | Guatemala | 31.0 | 2024 |
| 131 | Senegal | 28.3 | 2024 |
| 132 | Pakistan | 27.9 | 2024 |
| 133 | Ghana | 27.8 | 2024 |
| 134 | Mauritania | 27.7 | 2024 |
| 135 | Comoros | 26.8 | 2024 |
| 136 | Djibouti | 26.6 | 2024 |
| 137 | Gambia | 25.7 | 2024 |
| 138= | India | 25.5 | 2024 |
| 138= | Rwanda | 25.5 | 2024 |
| 140 | South Africa | 25.2 | 2024 |
| 141 | Uganda | 24.5 | 2024 |
| 142 | Cameroon | 23.7 | 2024 |
| 143 | Angola | 22.5 | 2024 |
| 144 | Zambia | 22.3 | 2024 |
| 145 | Kiribati | 22.0 | 2024 |
| 146 | Papua New Guinea | 21.8 | 2024 |
| 147 | Kenya | 21.7 | 2024 |
| 148 | Tanzania | 21.4 | 2024 |
| 149 | Mozambique | 21.3 | 2024 |
| 150 | Botswana | 21.2 | 2024 |
| 151 | Benin | 20.8 | 2024 |
| 152 | Guinea | 20.7 | 2024 |
| 153 | Guinea-Bissau | 20.3 | 2024 |
| 154 | Namibia | 20.2 | 2024 |
| 155 | Zimbabwe | 19.7 | 2024 |
| 156 | Ethiopia | 19.2 | 2024 |
| 157 | Liberia | 19.1 | 2024 |
| 158 | Mali | 19.0 | 2024 |
| 159 | Eswatini | 18.7 | 2024 |
| 160 | Haiti | 18.5 | 2024 |
| 161 | Sierra Leone | 18.3 | 2024 |
| 162 | Togo | 18.2 | 2024 |
| 163 | Malawi | 17.8 | 2024 |
| 164 | Burundi | 17.5 | 2024 |
| 165 | Eritrea | 16.6 | 2024 |
| 166 | Burkina Faso | 16.3 | 2024 |
| 167 | Nigeria | 14.5 | 2024 |
| 168 | Madagascar | 13.5 | 2024 |
| 169 | Niger | 12.8 | 2024 |
| 170 | Lesotho | 9.8 | 2024 |
| 171 | Central African Republic | 9.2 | 2024 |
| 172 | Chad | 4.6 | 2024 |
The wider picture
- In 2024, 2.1 billion people still lacked safely managed drinking water, including 106 million who drank directly from untreated surface sources.
- 696 million people lacked even a basic water service in 2024.
- At least 1.7 billion people used a drinking water source contaminated with feces in 2022.
The ten best scores for drinking water, 2024
| Category | Safe drinking water score (0 to 100) |
|---|---|
| Germany | 100.0 |
| United Kingdom | 100.0 |
| Italy | 100.0 |
| Greece | 100.0 |
| Switzerland | 100.0 |
| Finland | 100.0 |
| Ireland | 100.0 |
| Norway | 99.9 |
| Luxembourg | 99.8 |
| Canada | 99.7 |
What the numbers mean
Seven countries sit at the ceiling of 100.0, so they cannot be told apart on this measure; the useful differences start further down the table. A score below 100 means that people in that country lose some healthy life to unsafe drinking water, and the lower the score, the more they lose.
This table measures the health loss from unsafe drinking water. It does not measure whether every household has a safely managed supply: worldwide, 2.1 billion people still lacked one in 2024, and a country can score well here while some of its households lack safe service.
Sources
- 1 in 4 people globally still lack access to safe drinking water - WHO, UNICEF
- Drinking-water (WHO fact sheet)
- Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000-2024: special focus on inequalities (WHO/UNICEF JMP)
- Water Quality by Country 2026 (World Population Review, from the Environmental Performance Index drinking water score)