How basic drinking water coverage changed in rural North Africa

Morocco narrowed the gap with its national average

The difference between the national and rural rates fell from about 35.5 percentage points in 2000 to 11.6 in 2024. The national average includes rural residents. The gap compares the rural estimate with the country overall and would differ from a direct urban versus rural comparison. Source 1 Source 2

Tunisia approached 93% rural coverage

Tunisia’s rural estimate rose from 68.74% in 2000 to 92.89% in 2024. Egypt started higher and was still above 96% in 2024. Algeria’s published rural estimates stay near 85% across the most recent years. The table makes the countries’ different starting points visible. Source 1

The 30-minute threshold measures access

An improved source can qualify as basic if a round trip to collect water takes up to 30 minutes, including queuing. The at-least-basic figures also include safely managed services, which have additional requirements for location, availability and contamination. Source 3

Coverage and water availability are separate questions

The percentage measures household use of a service that meets at least the basic threshold. It takes reservoir and water-use records to follow water scarcity, and provider or household records to measure how regularly piped water is available. Both questions matter when assessing rural infrastructure. Source 3

Why the source uses estimates for each year

A country can survey different groups of households at different times. The Joint Monitoring Programme uses available national evidence to estimate service coverage between observations. The hundredths shown in the table are rounded estimates, and small changes call for attention to the underlying evidence. Source 3 Source 2 Source 1