Only 58 percent of Africa’s population enjoys access to safe drinking water, well below the target rate of 75 percent spelled out in the MDGs. In both urban and rural areas, the absolute number of people depending on unsafe surface water continues to grow.
Overall, wells and boreholes are by far the fastest growing source of improved water. In urban areas, coverage of piped water delivered through household connections has fallen markedly over the last 15 years because of rapid population growth (see table). But at close to 40 percent, it is still the single largest source of water supply. Overall, about two-thirds of the urban populace depends on water provided by utilities.
The lower coverage of standposts, compared with water piped directly into households, is particularly striking, given the relatively low cost of standposts and the pressure to expand services rapidly. But coverage of boreholes has risen, reaching about 24 percent of the urban population, while reliance on surface water, at 7 percent, has hardly changed.
Rural populations continue to rely on surface water (the practice of 40 percent of rural dwellers), while boreholes are the principal improved source, accounting for an additional 40 percent. Access to piped water and standposts is very low. In many countries, less than 1 percent of the rural population receives piped water.
Evolution of water supply coverage in Africa, by source