92% of Ghanaian households have access to improved drinking water – Government Statistician

About 92 per cent of households in Ghana have access to improved drinking water, representing a significant increase from 60.7 per cent recorded in 2000, Government Statistician Dr Alhassan Iddrisu has disclosed.

He said the proportion of households with access to improved sources of drinking water had increased steadily over the years, reaching approximately nine out of every 10 households in the 2021 Population and Housing Census.

Dr Iddrisu said the census data showed considerable progress in access to potable water across the country.

He explained that information on household amenities, including drinking water, was collected during the population and housing censuses to assess living conditions and access to essential services.

According to him, the 2000 census showed that 60.7 per cent of households had access to improved drinking water sources.

The figure increased significantly to 86 per cent in the 2010 census before rising further to 92 per cent in 2021.

“In this population census that we take, we visit households, we ask them questions with regard to the assets they have, to certain facilities or amenities, including water. And the number we have for the 2000 population census was 60.7 per cent of households saying they have access to drinking water from an improved source.

“And then we have 2010, this improving significantly to 86 per cent in 2010. And then by 2021, that improved to 92 per cent. So we have about nine in 10 households actually having access to improved drinking water per the 2021 census,” he said on Channel One TV on Wednesday, November 4.

He claimed that the figures indicate a steady improvement in household access to improved drinking water over the two decades covered by the census data.