Sub-Saharan Africa

Countries (and areas) in the region

Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Réunion, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Land

Total area: ---
Land area: 23,890,896 km² (2020)
Land use by sector: 44% agriculture, 26% forest and 30% other (2020 - 2021)

People

Total population: 1,211,190,002 people (2022)
Population density: 48 people per km² (2020)
Urbanisation: 39 % lives in urban areas and 55 % lives in rural areas (2020)

Economy

Total GDP: 4,224,355,401,051 USD per year (2020)
GDP per capita: 3,488 USD per year (2020)
Value added by sector: 17% from agriculture, 49% from services and 27% from industry (2020 - 2023)

The above data are estimates based on the latest available data for all countries (and areas) in the region. The estimates are not adjusted for potentially missing or outdated country (and area) data.

SDG 6 snapshot Sub-Saharan Africa

Drinking water
31 % of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa uses a safely managed drinking water service (SDG indicator 6.1.1, 2022)
Sanitation
24 % of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa uses a safely managed sanitation service (SDG indicator 6.2.1a, 2022)
Hygiene
23 % of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa has a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home (SDG indicator 6.2.1b, 2022)
Wastewater
19 % of domestic wastewater in Sub-Saharan Africa is safely treated (2024), but insufficient data to assess industrial wastewater treatment in the region (SDG indicator 6.3.1)
Water quality
79 % of monitored water bodies in Sub-Saharan Africa has good ambient water quality (SDG indicator 6.3.2, 2023)
Efficiency
13 $/m<sup>3</sup> is the value added from the use of water by people and the economy in Sub-Saharan Africa (SDG indicator 6.4.1, 2021)
Water stress
6.3 % of the renewable water resources in Sub-Saharan Africa is being withdrawn, after taking into account environmental flow requirements (SDG indicator 6.4.2, 2021)
Water management
49 % is the degree of implementation of integrated water resources management in Sub-Saharan Africa (SDG indicator 6.5.1, 2023)
Transboundary
--- % of transboundary basin area has an operational arrangement for water cooperation (SDG indicator 6.5.2, 2023)
Ecosystems
3.6 % is the increase in permanent surface water in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2021, compared to baseline period 2000-2019 (SDG indicator 6.6.1)
Cooperation
2683 m$ is the amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance received by Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022 (SDG indicator 6.a.1)
Participation
+ is the average number of sub-sectors (out of 6) with a high level of participation by communities in Sub-Saharan Africa (SDG indicator 6.b.1, 2021)

Drinking water

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services in Sub-Saharan Africa, progress over time

Figure 1 introduction

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services in Sub-Saharan Africa, by service level and location (2022)

Figure 2 introduction

Sanitation and hygiene

6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa, progress over time

6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services in Sub-Saharan Africa, by service level and location (2022)

6.2.1b Proportion of population with a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home in Sub-Saharan Africa, by service level and location (2022)

Water quality and wastewater

Number of countries (and areas) with different levels of wastewater treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa, by source (2017-2022)

Change in 6.3.1 Proportion of wastewater flow (safely) treated > Domestic in Sub-Saharan Africa, between 2022 and 2024

In the below chart, the regional value is displayed in accent colour. The values of the following countries (or areas) in the region are displayed in grey: Sub-Saharan Africa, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Mayotte, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Benin, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, Réunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Eswatini, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Zambia

Domestic wastewater flow generated, delivered to treatment, and safely treated in Sub-Saharan Africa, by sanitation facility (2024)

Of the total domestic wastewater flow generated in Sub-Saharan Africa, 16 % comes from sewers, 28 % from septic tanks and 56 % from other sanitation facilities. The below chart shows how much of the generated flow from each sanitation facility type that is delivered to treatment and then safely treated.

6.3.2 Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality in Sub-Saharan Africa (2020-2023)

Water use and scarcity

Water resources and withdrawal in Sub-Saharan Africa, total and per capita

Renewable water resources, regional average: 4,886 m3 per capita (2020)
Water withdrawal, regional average: 92 m3 per capita (2020)
Renewable water resources, water withdrawal and environmental flow requirements for all reporting countries (and areas) in the region ( - 2020):

6.4.2 Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources in Sub-Saharan Africa, change over time

6.4.1 Change in water-use efficiency over time in Sub-Saharan Africa, progress over time

Water-use efficiency and its components, by sector, for all reporting countries (and areas) in Sub-Saharan Africa (2021)

Water-use efficiency for ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ only takes into account the proportion of gross value added that comes from irrigated agriculture, since that activity is associated with water withdrawal (other activities are rain-fed).

Water resources management

6.5.1 Degree of integrated water resources management implementation (0-100) in Sub-Saharan Africa, progress over time, by dimension

Degree of IWRM implementation (0-100): Very low (0-10) – Low (11-30) – Medium-low (31-50) – Medium-high (51-70) – High (71-90) – Very high (91-100)

6.5.2 Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa, progress over time, by component

Very low (0-10) – Low (11-30) – Medium-low (31-50) – Medium-high (51-70) – High (71-90) – Very high (91-100)

Change in permanent surface water extent in Sub-Saharan Africa compared to baseline period 2000-2019, by country (data from 2017-2022)

Extent of water-related ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa and change compared to baseline period 2000-2019, by ecosystem type (data from 2017-2021)

The total extent of water-related ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa is 1,198,637 square kilometres, representing 5.02 % of its land area. The total extent of water-related ecosystems is made up of 0.59 % permanent lakes and rivers, 0.32 % seasonal lakes and rivers, 0.37 % reservoirs, 3.6 % inland vegetated wetlands and 0.12 % mangroves.

With the broad definition of wetlands used by the Ramsar Convention, Sub-Saharan Africa has --- square kilometres of natural wetlands and --- square kilometres of human made wetlands.

Maximum and minimum river flow in Sub-Saharan Africa and change compared to baseline period 2000-2019 (data from 2020)

In Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020, the maximum river flow increased with 30% and the minimum river flow increased with 35%, compared to the baseline period.

Proportion of large lakes with high change in turbidity and trophic state in Sub-Saharan Africa compared to baseline period 2006-2019 (data from 2017-2021)

Number of countries (and areas) in Sub-Saharan Africa with different coverage of protected areas for biodiversity, by ecosystem type (data from 2021)

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 45% of freshwater key biodiversity areas and 44% of terrestrial key biodiversity areas are covered by protected areas.

International cooperation and capacity-building

6.a.1 Amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance received by Sub-Saharan Africa, by country (and area) and over time

Annual expenditure for drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in Sub-Saharan Africa, per capita and by funding source

Community participation

6.b.1 Number of countries (or areas) with clearly defined Procedures in law or policy for participation by users/communities and with a high Level of participation by users/communities in Sub-Saharan Africa (2012-2021)

Sub-Saharan Africa

Countries (and areas) in the region

Land

People

Economy

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Drinking water

Sanitation

Hygiene

Wastewater

Water quality

Efficiency

Water stress

Water management

Transboundary

Ecosystems

Cooperation

Participation