Benin
Capital: Porto-Novo · Lower middle income · Pop. 14.5 million
Source: World Bank Open Data (WHO/UNICEF JMP & FAO AQUASTAT) · drinking water 2024
In Benin, 17.7% of the population uses safely managed drinking water — an improved source, located on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination (2024 estimate). That leaves roughly 11.9 million people without safely managed drinking water at home.
Sanitation tracks closely: 16.36% use safely managed sanitation services and 22.25% have at least a basic service (2024).
Benin has about 749 cubic meters of renewable internal freshwater per person each year — below the ~1,000 m³ threshold widely used to define water scarcity. It withdraws the equivalent of 1% of those internal resources annually (low water stress).
Agriculture accounts for about 25% of Benin's water withdrawals, the rest going to households and industry.
Common questions
How many people in Benin have safe drinking water?
17.7% of Benin's population uses safely managed drinking water (2024), per WHO/UNICEF data; about 11.9 million people do not.
Does Benin have enough freshwater?
Benin has roughly 749 m³ of renewable internal freshwater per person per year, and uses about 1% of it annually (low stress).