Industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia
Australia: Industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals was 18.6% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia, 2001–2022
Source: AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total freshwater withdrawal.
Analysis
Australia recorded 18.6% for industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals in 2022.
The figure is down 4.5% on the previous year and up 10.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia peaked at 22.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 10.3%, in 2001.
Australia ranks 57th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of total freshwater withdrawal | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 10.3% | — |
| 2002 | 10.7% | +4.7% |
| 2003 | 11.3% | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 11.8% | +5.0% |
| 2005 | 12.4% | +5.1% |
| 2006 | 13.7% | +10.0% |
| 2007 | 15.1% | +10.4% |
| 2008 | 16.7% | +10.8% |
| 2009 | 18.6% | +11.4% |
| 2010 | 18.8% | +1.1% |
| 2011 | 20.4% | +8.6% |
| 2012 | 16.8% | -17.9% |
| 2013 | 12.8% | -24.0% |
| 2014 | 14.3% | +12.0% |
| 2015 | 16.0% | +11.8% |
| 2016 | 20.9% | +31.0% |
| 2017 | 15.6% | -25.5% |
| 2018 | 16.5% | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 17.5% | +6.0% |
| 2020 | 22.1% | +26.2% |
| 2021 | 19.5% | -11.8% |
| 2022 | 18.6% | -4.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.4% | 10.3% | 18.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 17.0% | 12.8% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.0% | 18.6% | 22.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 14.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0326 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate -4.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia?
- Industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia was 18.6% 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 industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 22.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.3% in 2001.
- How does Australia rank for industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals?
- Australia ranks 57th out of 179 countries with data for 2022.
- Is industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia 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 Industrial water as a share of total water withdrawals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Industrial water withdrawals as a percentage of total water withdrawals (which is the sum of water used for agriculture, industry, and municipal purposes).