Shared Growth in East Asia

Access to Safe Water

Data and source

Over the past two and a half decades, many countries have taken major strides in improving water supplies. Government action often plays a key role in setting up the infrastructure for the provision of safe water. World experience shows that such action can significantly improve people's health.

The richest of the high performance East Asian economies -- Japan, Singapore, Taiwan/China, and Hong Kong -- achieved comprehensive access to safe water several decades ago. The poorest of the high performance East Asian economies, Indonesia, still has less than half of its population with access to safe water. In Malaysia and Thailand, the percent of the population with access to safe water rose from about 30% in the early 1970s to about 75% in the early 1990's. Those who still lack access to safe water are predominately concentrated in rural areas.

Economic Growth in East Asia