Annual freshwater withdrawals, domestic (% of total freshwater withdrawal) - Country Ranking

Definition: Annual freshwater withdrawals refer to total water withdrawals, not counting evaporation losses from storage basins. Withdrawals also include water from desalination plants in countries where they are a significant source. Withdrawals can exceed 100 percent of total renewable resources where extraction from nonrenewable aquifers or desalination plants is considerable or where there is significant water reuse. Withdrawals for domestic uses include drinking water, municipal use or supply, and use for public services, commercial establishments, and homes. Data are for the most recent year available for 1987-2002.

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization, AQUASTAT data.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Brunei 164.67 2017
2 Monaco 100.00 2017
3 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 99.98 2017
4 St. Kitts and Nevis 98.72 2017
5 Luxembourg 95.61 2017
6 Dominica 95.00 2017
7 Grenada 85.11 2014
8 Djibouti 84.21 2017
9 Central African Republic 82.90 2017
10 Equatorial Guinea 79.80 2017
11 United Kingdom 73.95 2017
12 Ireland 73.29 2017
13 Congo 69.47 2017
14 Dem. Rep. Congo 68.01 2017
15 Seychelles 65.69 2017
16 Croatia 63.64 2017
17 Bahrain 63.44 2017
18 Togo 63.09 2017
19 Panama 62.66 2017
20 Antigua and Barbuda 62.61 2017
21 Trinidad and Tobago 62.00 2017
22 Benin 61.97 2017
23 Gabon 60.89 2017
24 Montenegro 59.91 2017
25 Malta 58.62 2017
26 Papua New Guinea 57.00 2017
27 Liberia 54.97 2017
28 Switzerland 53.70 2017
29 Slovak Republic 52.76 2017
30 Sierra Leone 52.31 2017
31 Qatar 52.29 2017
32 Latvia 52.13 2017
33 Botswana 52.12 2017
34 Uganda 51.49 2017
35 Denmark 51.48 2017
36 Lithuania 50.35 2017
37 Comoros 48.00 2017
38 Burkina Faso 45.92 2017
39 Lesotho 45.66 2017
40 Angola 45.27 2017
41 Singapore 45.00 2017
42 Jordan 43.76 2017
43 Israel 42.66 2017
44 Mauritius 42.21 2017
45 The Gambia 40.55 2017
46 Sweden 40.21 2017
47 Nigeria 40.08 2017
48 Guinea 39.17 2017
49 Czech Republic 37.82 2017
50 Belarus 37.44 2017
51 São Tomé and Principe 35.94 2017
52 Kuwait 35.86 2017
53 Cyprus 35.37 2017
54 Algeria 34.41 2017
55 Rwanda 33.39 2017
56 North Macedonia 33.33 2017
57 Fiji 29.80 2017
58 St. Lucia 29.14 2017
59 Norway 28.81 2017
60 Iceland 28.75 2017
61 Italy 27.75 2017
62 Côte d'Ivoire 27.54 2017
63 Russia 27.50 2017
64 Ukraine 26.11 2017
65 Colombia 25.64 2017
66 Brazil 25.49 2017
67 Namibia 25.35 2017
68 Mozambique 25.25 2017
69 Guatemala 25.12 2017
70 Barbados 24.69 2017
71 Korea 24.64 2017
72 Malaysia 24.45 2017
73 Cuba 24.43 2017
74 Puerto Rico 24.31 2017
75 Cameroon 22.68 2017
76 Venezuela 22.64 2017
77 El Salvador 22.38 2017
78 Armenia 21.51 2017
79 Finland 21.42 2017
80 Austria 20.62 2017
81 Australia 20.49 2017
82 Ghana 20.46 2017
83 Costa Rica 20.41 2017
84 Poland 20.12 2017
85 South Africa 20.07 2017
86 Albania 19.93 2017
87 Georgia 19.75 2017
88 Honduras 19.60 2017
89 France 19.57 2017
90 Japan 18.92 2017
91 Nicaragua 18.52 2017
92 Belgium 18.50 2017
93 Zambia 18.45 2017
94 Slovenia 18.20 2017
95 Germany 17.96 2017
96 Guinea-Bissau 17.95 2017
97 Greece 17.71 2017
98 Moldova 17.62 2017
99 Peru 17.37 2017
100 Mexico 16.20 2017
101 Spain 15.67 2017
102 Bulgaria 15.59 2017
103 New Zealand 15.57 2017
104 Argentina 15.48 2017
105 Romania 15.47 2017
106 United Arab Emirates 15.43 2017
107 Burundi 15.39 2017
108 Paraguay 15.00 2017
109 Zimbabwe 14.61 2017
110 Hungary 13.87 2017
111 Egypt 13.87 2017
112 Canada 13.73 2017
113 Saudi Arabia 13.49 2017
114 China 13.28 2017
115 United States 13.14 2017
116 Haiti 13.10 2017
117 Lebanon 13.04 2017
118 Ecuador 13.04 2017
119 Kenya 12.28 2017
120 Serbia 12.26 2017
121 Libya 12.01 2017
122 Chad 11.79 2017
123 Belize 11.29 2017
124 Uruguay 11.20 2017
125 Indonesia 10.69 2017
126 Malawi 10.55 2017
127 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 10.43 2017
128 Jamaica 10.34 2017
129 Niger 10.22 2017
130 Turkey 10.20 2017
131 Morocco 10.19 2017
132 Tanzania 10.17 2017
133 Bangladesh 10.04 2017
134 Myanmar 9.95 2017
135 Mongolia 9.80 2017
136 Philippines 9.63 2017
137 Kazakhstan 9.60 2017
138 Dominican Republic 9.42 2017
139 Syrian Arab Republic 8.80 2017
140 Timor-Leste 8.45 2017
141 Portugal 8.18 2017
142 Suriname 8.00 2017
143 Netherlands 7.84 2017
144 Ethiopia 7.68 2017
145 Yemen 7.43 2017
146 India 7.36 2017
147 Mauritania 7.07 2017
148 Oman 6.94 2017
149 Iran 6.65 2017
150 Bolivia 6.51 2017
151 Sri Lanka 6.22 2017
152 Cabo Verde 5.93 2017
153 Tajikistan 5.63 2017
154 Eritrea 5.33 2017
155 Pakistan 5.26 2017
156 Bhutan 5.03 2017
157 Thailand 4.78 2017
158 Cambodia 4.49 2017
159 Senegal 4.41 2017
160 Guyana 4.24 2017
161 Uzbekistan 4.09 2017
162 Eswatini 3.87 2017
163 Chile 3.58 2017
164 Sudan 3.53 2017
165 Azerbaijan 3.52 2017
166 Estonia 3.33 2017
167 Iraq 3.19 2017
168 Kyrgyz Republic 2.92 2017
169 Madagascar 2.91 2017
170 Tunisia 2.81 2017
171 Turkmenistan 2.70 2017
172 Mali 2.06 2017
173 Lao PDR 1.78 2017
174 Nepal 1.55 2017
175 Vietnam 1.47 2017
176 Afghanistan 1.00 2017
177 Somalia 0.45 2017

More rankings: Africa | Asia | Central America & the Caribbean | Europe | Middle East | North America | Oceania | South America | World |

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: Domestic water withdrawal, sometimes used interchangeably with municipal water withdrawal, focuses on human needs (drinking, cooking, cleaning, and sanitation). Data includes renewable freshwater resources, potential over-abstraction of renewable groundwater, withdrawal of fossil groundwater, and the potential use of desalinated water or treated wastewater. It is usually computed as the total water withdrawn by the public distribution network, and includes that part of the industries, which is connected to the municipal network. The ratio between the net consumption and the water withdrawn can vary from 5 to 15 percent in urban areas and from 10 to 50 percent in rural areas. Water withdrawals can exceed 100 percent of total renewable resources where extraction from nonrenewable aquifers or desalination plants is considerable or where water reuse is significant. Withdrawals for domestic uses include drinking water, municipal use or supply, and use for public services, commercial establishments, and homes.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual