Renewable internal freshwater resources, total (billion cubic meters) - Country Ranking

Definition: Renewable internal freshwater resources flows refer to internal renewable resources (internal river flows and groundwater from rainfall) in the country.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, AQUASTAT data.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Brazil 5,661.00 2018
2 Russia 4,312.00 2018
3 Canada 2,850.00 2018
4 United States 2,818.00 2018
5 China 2,812.90 2018
6 Colombia 2,145.00 2018
7 Indonesia 2,018.70 2018
8 Peru 1,641.00 2018
9 India 1,446.00 2018
10 Myanmar 1,002.80 2018
11 Dem. Rep. Congo 900.00 2018
12 Chile 885.00 2018
13 Venezuela 805.00 2018
14 Papua New Guinea 801.00 2018
15 Malaysia 580.00 2018
16 Australia 492.00 2018
17 Philippines 479.00 2018
18 Ecuador 442.40 2018
19 Japan 430.00 2018
20 Mexico 409.00 2018
21 Norway 382.00 2018
22 Vietnam 359.42 2018
23 Madagascar 337.00 2018
24 New Zealand 327.00 2018
25 Bolivia 303.50 2018
26 Argentina 292.00 2018
27 Cameroon 273.00 2018
28 Guyana 241.00 2018
29 Turkey 227.00 2018
30 Guinea 226.00 2018
31 Thailand 224.51 2018
32 Congo 222.00 2018
33 Nigeria 221.00 2018
34 Liberia 200.00 2018
34 France 200.00 2018
36 Nepal 198.20 2018
37 Lao PDR 190.40 2018
38 Italy 182.50 2018
39 Sweden 171.00 2018
40 Iceland 170.00 2018
41 Gabon 164.00 2018
42 Sierra Leone 160.00 2018
43 Nicaragua 156.21 2018
44 Angola 148.00 2018
45 United Kingdom 145.00 2018
46 Central African Republic 141.00 2018
47 Panama 136.60 2018
48 Iran 128.50 2018
49 Ethiopia 122.00 2018
50 Cambodia 120.60 2018
51 Paraguay 117.00 2018
52 Costa Rica 113.00 2018
53 Spain 111.20 2018
54 Guatemala 109.20 2018
55 Germany 107.00 2018
55 Finland 107.00 2018
57 Bangladesh 105.00 2018
58 Mozambique 100.30 2018
59 Suriname 99.00 2018
60 Uruguay 92.20 2018
61 Honduras 90.66 2018
62 Tanzania 84.00 2018
63 Zambia 80.20 2018
64 Bhutan 78.00 2018
65 Côte d'Ivoire 76.84 2018
66 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 67.00 2018
67 Korea 64.85 2018
68 Kazakhstan 64.35 2018
69 Tajikistan 63.46 2018
70 Mali 60.00 2018
71 Georgia 58.13 2018
72 Greece 58.00 2018
73 Ukraine 55.10 2018
74 Pakistan 55.00 2018
74 Austria 55.00 2018
76 Poland 53.60 2018
77 Sri Lanka 52.80 2018
78 Ireland 49.00 2018
79 Kyrgyz Republic 48.93 2018
80 Afghanistan 47.15 2018
81 South Africa 44.80 2018
82 Solomon Islands 44.70 2018
83 Romania 42.38 2018
84 Switzerland 40.40 2018
85 Uganda 39.00 2018
86 Cuba 38.12 2018
87 Portugal 38.00 2018
88 Croatia 37.70 2018
89 Bosnia and Herzegovina 35.50 2018
90 Iraq 35.20 2018
91 Mongolia 34.80 2018
92 Belarus 34.00 2018
93 Ghana 30.30 2018
94 Morocco 29.00 2018
95 Fiji 28.55 2018
96 Albania 26.90 2018
97 Equatorial Guinea 26.00 2018
98 Senegal 25.80 2018
99 Dominican Republic 23.50 2018
100 Bulgaria 21.00 2018
101 Kenya 20.70 2018
102 Slovenia 18.67 2018
103 Latvia 16.94 2018
104 Uzbekistan 16.34 2018
105 Malawi 16.14 2018
106 Guinea-Bissau 16.00 2018
107 El Salvador 15.63 2018
108 Lithuania 15.46 2018
109 Belize 15.26 2018
110 Chad 15.00 2018
111 Czech Republic 13.15 2018
112 Haiti 13.01 2018
113 Estonia 12.71 2018
114 Slovak Republic 12.60 2018
115 Burkina Faso 12.50 2018
116 Zimbabwe 12.26 2018
117 Belgium 12.00 2018
118 Togo 11.50 2018
119 Algeria 11.25 2018
120 Netherlands 11.00 2018
121 Jamaica 10.82 2018
122 Benin 10.30 2018
123 Burundi 10.06 2018
124 Vanuatu 10.00 2018
125 Rwanda 9.50 2018
126 Brunei 8.50 2018
127 Serbia 8.41 2018
128 Timor-Leste 8.22 2018
129 Azerbaijan 8.12 2018
130 Syrian Arab Republic 7.13 2018
131 Puerto Rico 7.10 2018
132 Armenia 6.86 2018
133 Namibia 6.16 2018
134 Denmark 6.00 2018
134 Hungary 6.00 2018
134 Somalia 6.00 2018
137 North Macedonia 5.40 2018
138 Lesotho 5.23 2018
139 Lebanon 4.80 2018
140 Tunisia 4.20 2018
141 Sudan 4.00 2018
142 Trinidad and Tobago 3.84 2018
143 Niger 3.50 2018
144 The Gambia 3.00 2018
145 Eritrea 2.80 2018
146 Mauritius 2.75 2018
147 Eswatini 2.64 2018
148 Saudi Arabia 2.40 2018
148 Botswana 2.40 2018
150 São Tomé and Principe 2.18 2018
151 Yemen 2.10 2018
152 Moldova 1.62 2018
153 Turkmenistan 1.41 2018
154 Oman 1.40 2018
155 Comoros 1.20 2018
156 Egypt 1.00 2018
156 Luxembourg 1.00 2018
158 Cyprus 0.78 2018
159 Israel 0.75 2018
160 The Bahamas 0.70 2018
160 Libya 0.70 2018
162 Jordan 0.68 2018
163 Singapore 0.60 2018
164 Mauritania 0.40 2018
165 Andorra 0.32 2018
166 St. Lucia 0.30 2018
166 Cabo Verde 0.30 2018
166 Djibouti 0.30 2018
169 Dominica 0.20 2018
169 Grenada 0.20 2018
171 United Arab Emirates 0.15 2018
172 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 0.10 2018
173 Barbados 0.08 2018
174 Qatar 0.06 2018
175 Antigua and Barbuda 0.05 2018
176 Malta 0.05 2018
177 St. Kitts and Nevis 0.02 2018
178 Nauru 0.01 2018
179 Bahrain 0.00 2018
180 Kuwait 0.00 2018

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Development Relevance: UNESCO estimates that in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, public water withdrawal represents just 50-100 liters (13 to 26 gallons) per person per day. In regions with insufficient water resources, this figure may be as low as 20-60 (5 to 15 gallons) liters per day. People in developed countries on average consume about 10 times more water daily than those in developing countries. While some countries have an abundant supply of fresh water, others do not have as much. UN estimates that many areas of the world are already experiencing stress on water availability. Due to the accelerated pace of population growth and an increase in the amount of water a single person uses, it is expected that this situation will continue to get worse. The ability of developing countries to make more water available for domestic, agricultural, industrial and environmental uses will depend on better management of water resources and more cross-sectorial planning and integration. According to World Water Council, by 2020, water use is expected to increase by 40 percent, and 17 percent more water will be required for food production to meet the needs of the growing population. The three major factors causing increasing water demand over the past century are population growth, industrial development and the expansion of irrigated agriculture. Water productivity is an indication only of the efficiency by which each country uses its water resources. Given the different economic structure of each country, these indicators should be used carefully, taking into account a country's sectorial activities and natural resource endowments. According to Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) agriculture accounts for more than 70 percent of freshwater drawn from lakes, rivers and underground sources. Most is used for irrigation which provides about 40 percent of the world food production. Poor management has resulted in the salinization of about 20 percent of the world's irrigated land, with an additional 1.5 million ha affected annually. There is now ample evidence that increased hydrologic variability and change in climate has and will continue to have a profound impact on the water sector through the hydrologic cycle, water availability, water demand, and water allocation at the global, regional, basin, and local levels. Properly managed water resources are a critical component of growth, poverty reduction and equity. The livelihoods of the poorest are critically associated with access to water services. A shortage of water in the future would be detrimental to the human population as it would affect everything from sanitation, to overall health and the production of grain. Freshwater use by continents is partly based on several socio-economic development factors, including population, physiography, and climatic characteristics. It is estimated that in the coming decades the most intensive growth of water withdrawal is expected to occur in Africa and South America (increasing by 1.5-1.6 times), while the smallest growth will take place in Europe and North America (1.2 times). The Commission for Sustainable Development (CSD) has reported that many countries lack adequate legislation and policies for efficient and equitable allocation and use of water resources. Progress is, however, being made with the review of national legislation and enactment of new laws and regulations.

Limitations and Exceptions: A common perception is that most of the available freshwater resources are visible (on the surfaces of lakes, reservoirs and rivers). However, this visible water represents only a tiny fraction of global freshwater resources, as most of it is stored in aquifers, with the largest stocks stored in solid form in the Antarctic and in Greenland's ice cap. The data on freshwater resources are based on estimates of runoff into rivers and recharge of groundwater. These estimates are based on different sources and refer to different years, so cross-country comparisons should be made with caution. Because the data are collected intermittently, they may hide significant variations in total renewable water resources from year to year. The data also fail to distinguish between seasonal and geographic variations in water availability within countries. Data for small countries and countries in arid and semiarid zones are less reliable than those for larger countries and countries with greater rainfall. Caution should also be used in comparing data on annual freshwater withdrawals, which are subject to variations in collection and estimation methods. In addition, inflows and outflows are estimated at different times and at different levels of quality and precision, requiring caution in interpreting the data, particularly for water-short countries, notably in the Middle East and North Africa. The data are based on surveys and estimates provided by governments to the Joint Monitoring Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). The coverage rates are based on information from service users on actual household use rather than on information from service providers, which may include nonfunctioning systems.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: The data on freshwater resources are based on estimates of runoff into rivers and recharge of groundwater. Renewable water resources (internal and external) include average annual flow of rivers and recharge of aquifers generated from endogenous precipitation, and those water resources that are not generated in the country, such as inflows from upstream countries (groundwater and surface water), and part of the water of border lakes and/or rivers. Non-renewable water includes groundwater bodies (deep aquifers) that have a negligible rate of recharge on the human time-scale. While renewable water resources are expressed in flows, non-renewable water resources have to be expressed in quantity (stock). Runoff from glaciers where the mass balance is negative is considered non-renewable. Total actual renewable water resources correspond to the maximum theoretical yearly amount of water actually available for a country at a given moment. The unit of calculation is km3/year or 109 m3/year. Calculation Criteria is [Water resources: total renewable (actual)] = [Surface water: total renewable (actual)] + [Groundwater: total renewable (actual)] - [Overlap between surface water and groundwater].* Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface. It is a renewable but limited natural resource. Fresh water can only be renewed through the process of the water cycle, where water from seas, lakes, forests, land, rivers, and dams evaporates, forms clouds, and returns as precipitation. However, if more fresh water is consumed through human activities than is restored by nature, the result is that the quantity of fresh water available in lakes, rivers, dams and underground waters can be reduced which can cause serious damage to the surrounding environment. * http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/data/glossary/search.html?termId=4188&submitBtn=s&cls=yes

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual