Zimbabwe
Capital: Harare · Lower middle income · Pop. 16.6 million
Source: World Bank Open Data (WHO/UNICEF JMP & FAO AQUASTAT) · drinking water 2024
In Zimbabwe, 25.46% 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 12.4 million people without safely managed drinking water at home.
Sanitation tracks closely: 23.56% use safely managed sanitation services and 34.64% have at least a basic service (2024).
Zimbabwe has about 763 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 40% of those internal resources annually (medium water stress).
Agriculture accounts for about 87% of Zimbabwe's water withdrawals, the rest going to households and industry.
Common questions
How many people in Zimbabwe have safe drinking water?
25.46% of Zimbabwe's population uses safely managed drinking water (2024), per WHO/UNICEF data; about 12.4 million people do not.
Does Zimbabwe have enough freshwater?
Zimbabwe has roughly 763 m³ of renewable internal freshwater per person per year, and uses about 40% of it annually (medium stress).