In 2002, 83 per cent of the world’s population - around 5.2 billion people - used improved drinking water sources. These include piped water connections and standpipes, as described in Definition of Indicators (coverage estimates for individual countries can be found in Country, Regional and Global Estimate).
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The good news - gains in all regions since 1990 - is counter-balanced by the fact that 1.1 billion people were still using water from unimproved sources in 2002. In sub-Saharan Africa, 42 per cent of the population is still unserved.
Of the 1.1 billion people using water from unimproved sources, nearly two thirds live in Asia. The number of people without improved water sources in China alone is equal to the number of unserved in all of Africa.
The lowest drinking water coverage levels are found in sub-Saharan Africa and in Oceania.* In contrast, several regions, including Northern Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Asia, have achieved coverage levels of close to 90 per cent or more.
*Country distribution by region can be found on the map in Millennium Development Goals: Regional Grouping.