Annual freshwater withdrawals in Netherlands

Netherlands: Annual freshwater withdrawals was 8.23 billion billion cubic meters in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
8.23 billion billion cubic meters
Change on year
up 3.6%
World rank
54th
of 181 countries
All-time high
11.55 billion billion cubic meters
in 2005
All-time low
6.51 billion billion cubic meters
in 1996
Years of data
43
1980–2022

Annual freshwater withdrawals in Netherlands, 1980–2022

02.5B5.0B7.5B10.0B12.5B1980200120221980: 9.2B billion cubic meters1981: 9.2B billion cubic meters1982: 9.3B billion cubic meters1983: 9.3B billion cubic meters1984: 9.3B billion cubic meters1985: 9.3B billion cubic meters1986: 9.1B billion cubic meters1987: 8.8B billion cubic meters1988: 8.5B billion cubic meters1989: 8.3B billion cubic meters1990: 8.0B billion cubic meters1991: 8.0B billion cubic meters1992: 7.7B billion cubic meters1993: 7.4B billion cubic meters1994: 7.1B billion cubic meters1995: 6.8B billion cubic meters1996: 6.5B billion cubic meters1997: 7.0B billion cubic meters1998: 7.5B billion cubic meters1999: 8.0B billion cubic meters2000: 8.4B billion cubic meters2001: 8.9B billion cubic meters2002: 9.6B billion cubic meters2003: 10.2B billion cubic meters2004: 10.9B billion cubic meters2005: 11.6B billion cubic meters2006: 11.2B billion cubic meters2007: 10.9B billion cubic meters2008: 10.7B billion cubic meters2009: 11.4B billion cubic meters2010: 10.9B billion cubic meters2011: 10.2B billion cubic meters2012: 10.7B billion cubic meters2013: 10.6B billion cubic meters2014: 9.5B billion cubic meters2015: 8.4B billion cubic meters2016: 8.0B billion cubic meters2017: 7.9B billion cubic meters2018: 8.1B billion cubic meters2019: 8.4B billion cubic meters2020: 8.3B billion cubic meters2021: 7.9B billion cubic meters2022: 8.2B 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. Measured in billion cubic meters.

Analysis

In 2022, annual freshwater withdrawals in Netherlands stood at 8.23 billion billion cubic meters.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.6% on the previous year and down 23.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual freshwater withdrawals in Netherlands peaked at 11.55 billion billion cubic meters in 2005 and was at its lowest, 6.51 billion billion cubic meters, in 1996.

That places Netherlands 54th out of 181 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 43 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 9.03 billion billion cubic meters 8.26 billion billion cubic meters 9.35 billion billion cubic meters 10
1990s 7.39 billion billion cubic meters 6.51 billion billion cubic meters 7.98 billion billion cubic meters 10
2000s 10.39 billion billion cubic meters 8.43 billion billion cubic meters 11.55 billion billion cubic meters 10
2010s 9.28 billion billion cubic meters 7.92 billion billion cubic meters 10.93 billion billion cubic meters 10
2020s 8.16 billion billion cubic meters 7.95 billion billion cubic meters 8.31 billion billion cubic meters 3

Countries ranked near Netherlands

  1. 51 Poland 9.38 billion billion cubic meters compare
  2. 52 North Korea 8.66 billion billion cubic meters compare
  3. 53 United Kingdom 8.42 billion billion cubic meters compare
  4. 55 Romania 8.15 billion billion cubic meters compare
  5. 56 Kyrgyzstan 7.71 billion billion cubic meters compare
  6. 57 Laos 7.35 billion billion cubic meters compare

See the full ranking of 181 places →

More environment data for Netherlands

All data for Netherlands →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual freshwater withdrawals in Netherlands?
Annual freshwater withdrawals in Netherlands was 8.23 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 Netherlands?
The highest recorded value was 11.55 billion billion cubic meters in 2005.
What is the lowest annual freshwater withdrawals recorded in Netherlands?
The lowest recorded value was 6.51 billion billion cubic meters in 1996.
How does Netherlands rank for annual freshwater withdrawals?
Netherlands ranks 54th out of 181 countries with data for 2022.
Is annual freshwater withdrawals rising or falling in Netherlands?
Over the last ten years it is down 23.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Netherlands 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 — 43 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.