Annual freshwater withdrawals in Italy

Italy: Annual freshwater withdrawals was 33.78 billion billion cubic meters in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
33.78 billion billion cubic meters
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
22nd
of 181 countries
All-time high
53.56 billion billion cubic meters
in 2008
All-time low
33.42 billion billion cubic meters
in 2007
Years of data
53
1970–2022

Annual freshwater withdrawals in Italy, 1970–2022

020.0B40.0B60.0B197019962022

Source: AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in billion cubic meters.

Analysis

Italy recorded 33.78 billion billion cubic meters for annual freshwater withdrawals in 2022.

That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual freshwater withdrawals in Italy peaked at 53.56 billion billion cubic meters in 2008 and was at its lowest, 33.42 billion billion cubic meters, in 2007.

That places Italy 22nd out of 181 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 44.01 billion billion cubic meters 41.60 billion billion cubic meters 46.41 billion billion cubic meters 10
1980s 44.35 billion billion cubic meters 41.71 billion billion cubic meters 46.95 billion billion cubic meters 10
1990s 43.32 billion billion cubic meters 41.12 billion billion cubic meters 45.13 billion billion cubic meters 10
2000s 40.09 billion billion cubic meters 33.42 billion billion cubic meters 53.56 billion billion cubic meters 10
2010s 33.85 billion billion cubic meters 33.69 billion billion cubic meters 33.98 billion billion cubic meters 10
2020s 33.78 billion billion cubic meters 33.75 billion billion cubic meters 33.82 billion billion cubic meters 3

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 19 Canada 36.13 billion billion cubic meters compare
  2. 20 Bangladesh 35.87 billion billion cubic meters compare
  3. 21 Chile 35.37 billion billion cubic meters compare
  4. 23 Myanmar 33.23 billion billion cubic meters compare
  5. 24 South Korea 29.20 billion billion cubic meters compare
  6. 25 Spain 29.02 billion billion cubic meters compare

See the full ranking of 181 places →

More environment data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual freshwater withdrawals in Italy?
Annual freshwater withdrawals in Italy was 33.78 billion billion cubic meters in 2022, according to AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual freshwater withdrawals recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 53.56 billion billion cubic meters in 2008.
What is the lowest annual freshwater withdrawals recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 33.42 billion billion cubic meters in 2007.
How does Italy rank for annual freshwater withdrawals?
Italy ranks 22nd out of 181 countries with data for 2022.
Is annual freshwater withdrawals rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Italy data come from?
The figures come from AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual freshwater withdrawals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Annual freshwater withdrawals
Unit
billion cubic meters
Source
AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
181 places, 6,284 data points, 1962–2022
Last refreshed

Annual freshwater withdrawals refer to total water withdrawals, not counting evaporation losses from storage basins, measured in cubic metres (m³) per year. Total water withdrawals are the sum of withdrawals for agriculture, industry and municipal (domestic uses). Withdrawals also include water from desalination plants in countries where they are a significant source.