In urban areas of the region, the proportion of the urban population with access to improved water sources was 97 per cent in 2011, a rate that increased steadily from 94 per cent in 1990, reflecting increased investments in water infrastructure. Several countries have actually registered a fall in access to safe drinking water in urban areas; for instance, the figure for Bangladesh declined from 87 per cent in 1990 to 85 per cent in 2011, and for Nepal from 96 per cent in 1990 to 91 per cent in 2011. This reflects persistent levels of inequality in access to, and growing pressures on, the existing infrastructure.