Freshwater withdrawal — all countries

Freshwater withdrawal — World

Freshwater withdrawal in the world in 2022 — 3,853.1 km³. Since 1995, the indicator has risen by 19.9%.

2022 3,853 km³ +0.09% vs 2021
World rank
Period maximum 3,918 km³2017
Period minimum 3,214 km³1995

Trend over time

1995–2022 · km³ per year

Freshwater withdrawal — World, 1995–20223,2003,4003,6003,8004,00019951998200120042007201020132016201920221995: 3,214.4 km³1996: 3,241.96 km³1997: 3,267.52 km³1998: 3,297.9 km³1999: 3,331.15 km³2000: 3,405.49 km³2001: 3,427.84 km³2002: 3,470.43 km³2003: 3,503.1 km³2004: 3,491.96 km³2005: 3,521.56 km³2006: 3,613.03 km³2007: 3,668.13 km³2008: 3,752.74 km³2009: 3,752.51 km³2010: 3,763.11 km³2011: 3,773.35 km³2012: 3,836.26 km³2013: 3,834.92 km³2014: 3,851.95 km³2015: 3,851.04 km³2016: 3,885.53 km³2017: 3,917.62 km³2018: 3,905.33 km³2019: 3,905.42 km³2020: 3,875.76 km³2021: 3,849.6 km³2022: 3,853.1 km³
Change over the period: +639 (+19.87%) Average annual rate: 0.67 %

Comparison, 2022

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: World

World 3,853 km³
World 3,853 km³
Freshwater withdrawal — World, by year World All countries CSV XLSX
Year km³ Change Change, %
2022 3,853 +4 +0.09%
2021 3,850 −26 −0.68%
2020 3,876 −30 −0.76%
2019 3,905 +0 +0%
2018 3,905 −12 −0.31%
2017 3,918 +32 +0.83%
2016 3,886 +34 +0.9%
2015 3,851 −1 −0.02%
2014 3,852 +17 +0.44%
2013 3,835 −1 −0.03%
2012 3,836 +63 +1.67%
2011 3,773 +10 +0.27%
2010 3,763 +11 +0.28%
2009 3,753 −0 −0.01%
2008 3,753 +85 +2.31%
2007 3,668 +55 +1.53%
2006 3,613 +91 +2.6%
2005 3,522 +30 +0.85%
2004 3,492 −11 −0.32%
2003 3,503 +33 +0.94%
2002 3,470 +43 +1.24%
2001 3,428 +22 +0.66%
2000 3,405 +74 +2.23%
1999 3,331 +33 +1.01%
1998 3,298 +30 +0.93%
1997 3,268 +26 +0.79%
1996 3,242 +28 +0.86%
1995 3,214

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.