Share of schools with access to basic drinking water in India
India: Share of schools with access to basic drinking water was 99.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of schools with access to basic drinking water in India, 2016–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
India recorded 99.0% for share of schools with access to basic drinking water in 2025. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 18.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of schools with access to basic drinking water in India peaked at 99.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 80.9%, in 2017.
That places India 76th out of 117 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of schools with access to basic drinking water in India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 83.9% | — |
| 2017 | 80.9% | -3.6% |
| 2019 | 94.5% | +16.7% |
| 2020 | 92.6% | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 96.4% | +4.2% |
| 2022 | 97.6% | +1.2% |
| 2023 | 97.9% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 97.9% | -0.0% |
| 2025 | 99.0% | +1.2% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 99.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 87.0%, 1.1× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 86.4% | 80.9% | 94.5% | 3 |
| 2020s | 96.9% | 92.6% | 99.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near India
More education data for India
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 7.31 million (2025)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 3.10 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 19.37 million (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 18.52 million (2025)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 133.16 million (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 126.12 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -8.85 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0862 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of schools with access to basic drinking water in India?
- Share of schools with access to basic drinking water in India was 99.0% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of schools with access to basic drinking water recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 99.0% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of schools with access to basic drinking water recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 80.9% in 2017.
- How does India rank for share of schools with access to basic drinking water?
- India ranks 76th out of 117 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of schools with access to basic drinking water rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of schools with access to basic drinking water. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Proportion of schools with access to basic drinking water, by education level (%).