Freshwater withdrawal — all countries

Freshwater withdrawal — High-income countries

Freshwater withdrawal in high-income countries in 2022 — 942.02 km³. Since 2002, the indicator has fallen by 9.7%.

2022 942 km³ +0.01% vs 2021
World rank
Period maximum 1,046 km³2005
Period minimum 939 km³2020

Trend over time

2002–2022 · km³ per year

Freshwater withdrawal — High-income countries, 2002–20229009501,0001,050200220042006200820102012201420162018202020222002: 1,042.97 km³2003: 1,042.31 km³2004: 1,041.31 km³2005: 1,045.91 km³2006: 1,023.84 km³2007: 994.35 km³2008: 1,000.99 km³2009: 967.22 km³2010: 949.6 km³2011: 949.32 km³2012: 956.56 km³2013: 948.76 km³2014: 964.69 km³2015: 948.76 km³2016: 944.3 km³2017: 947.33 km³2018: 946.43 km³2019: 941.45 km³2020: 938.84 km³2021: 941.93 km³2022: 942.02 km³
Change over the period: −101 (−9.68%) Average annual rate: -0.51 %

Comparison, 2022

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: High-income countries

High-income countries 942 km³
World 3,853 km³
Freshwater withdrawal — High-income countries, by year High-income countries All countries CSV XLSX
Year km³ Change Change, %
2022 942 +0 +0.01%
2021 942 +3 +0.33%
2020 939 −3 −0.28%
2019 941 −5 −0.53%
2018 946 −1 −0.09%
2017 947 +3 +0.32%
2016 944 −4 −0.47%
2015 949 −16 −1.65%
2014 965 +16 +1.68%
2013 949 −8 −0.82%
2012 957 +7 +0.76%
2011 949 −0 −0.03%
2010 950 −18 −1.82%
2009 967 −34 −3.37%
2008 1,001 +7 +0.67%
2007 994 −29 −2.88%
2006 1,024 −22 −2.11%
2005 1,046 +5 +0.44%
2004 1,041 −1 −0.1%
2003 1,042 −1 −0.06%
2002 1,043

About the indicator

Annual freshwater withdrawal for all uses: irrigation, industry, municipal supply. More than two-thirds of global withdrawal goes to agriculture, so the volume is tied more closely to the area under irrigation than to the number of residents or the size of industry. Withdrawal is not consumption: part of the water returns to water bodies, though usually in worse condition.

Important: Withdrawal, not consumptive use. It can exceed a country's own renewable resources: the country then takes water from across the border, from non-renewable groundwater, or desalinates it.

Source: FAOSTAT (FAO), license CC BY 4.0.