Freshwater - abstractions — Public water supply by country
This dataset shows water abstractions by source (surface and ground water) and by major uses. Water abstractions refer to water taken from ground or surface water sources and conveyed to the place of use. If the water is returned to a surface water source, abstraction of the same water by the downstream user is...
What the numbers show
Freshwater - abstractions — Public water supply is currently reported for 27 countries. The highest value is 23,340 Cubic metres in United States; the lowest is 25.4 Cubic metres in Luxembourg.
The median across all reporting countries is 593 Cubic metres, and the mean is 2,238 Cubic metres.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 919.
Over the past decade 15 countries rose and 12 fell. The largest increase was in Ireland (up 185.9%), and the largest decrease in Greece (down 12.6%).
Freshwater - abstractions — Public water supply: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 23,340 Cubic metres | 2020 | up 15.7% | rising |
| 2 | Mexico | 7,609 Cubic metres | 2024 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 3 | Italy | 7,526 Cubic metres | 2024 | down 6.0% | flat |
| 4 | Germany | 3,756 Cubic metres | 2022 | up 7.0% | falling |
| 5 | France | 3,482 Cubic metres | 2023 | down 2.8% | flat |
| 6 | Japan | 2,796 Cubic metres | 2022 | down 11.2% | falling |
| 7 | United Kingdom | 1,664 Cubic metres | 2014 | down 9.2% | falling |
| 8 | Spain | 1,495 Cubic metres | 2020 | down 6.0% | rising |
| 9 | Peru | 1,047 Cubic metres | 2024 | up 55.2% | rising |
| 10 | Chile | 859.12 Cubic metres | 2021 | up 31.7% | rising |
| 11 | Switzerland | 734 Cubic metres | 2024 | down 0.3% | falling |
| 12 | Austria | 719 Cubic metres | 2018 | up 18.4% | rising |
| 13 | Greece | 690.64 Cubic metres | 2024 | down 12.6% | rising |
| 14 | Romania | 593 Cubic metres | 2024 | up 52.1% | falling |
| 15 | Canada | 589.6 Cubic metres | 2021 | up 1.5% | rising |
| 16 | Belgium | 462.06 Cubic metres | 2022 | down 0.3% | falling |
| 17 | Hungary | 444.13 Cubic metres | 2024 | up 31.9% | falling |
| 18 | Bulgaria | 433.55 Cubic metres | 2023 | down 2.1% | falling |
| 19 | Denmark | 379.89 Cubic metres | 2024 | down 2.7% | falling |
| 20 | Ireland | 343.07 Cubic metres | 2024 | up 185.9% | rising |
| 21 | Portugal | 325.55 Cubic metres | 2020 | up 0.9% | falling |
| 22 | Czechia | 293.3 Cubic metres | 2024 | up 0.3% | falling |
| 23 | Finland | 266 Cubic metres | 2014 | up 11.3% | rising |
| 24 | Costa Rica | 254.65 Cubic metres | 2024 | up 52.4% | rising |
| 25 | Sweden | 197 Cubic metres | 2020 | down 5.7% | falling |
| 26 | Norway | 102.32 Cubic metres | 2024 | down 11.8% | rising |
| 27 | Luxembourg | 25.4 Cubic metres | 2024 | up 3.2% | rising |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Korea 1,244 Cubic metres
- Croatia 443.59 Cubic metres
- Slovak Republic 255.81 Cubic metres
About this data
This dataset shows water abstractions by source (surface and ground water) and by major uses. Water abstractions refer to water taken from ground or surface water sources and conveyed to the place of use. If the water is returned to a surface water source, abstraction of the same water by the downstream user is counted again in compiling total abstractions. When interpreting those data, it should be borne in mind that the definitions and estimation methods employed by member countries may vary considerably. Data source(s): Joint OECD/Eurostat questionnaire on Inland Waters. Data for non-OECD countries is sourced from UNSD (Country Files from the UNSD/UNEP data collection on environment statistics (available at: https://unstats.un.org/unsd/envstats/country_files)) Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Dataset release date: August 7, 2026 Country metadata - Métadonnées pays