Industrial water withdrawal in Australia
Australia: Industrial water withdrawal was 3.12 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
3.12 billion cubic meters
Change on year
down 16.6%
World rank
28th
of 180 countries
All-time high
3.74 billion cubic meters
in 2022
All-time low
2.23 billion cubic meters
in 2001
Years of data
23
2001–2023
Industrial water withdrawal in Australia, 2001–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
The most recent figure for industrial water withdrawal in Australia is 3.12 billion cubic meters, measured in 2023.
That represents a change of down 16.6% on the previous year and up 23.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, industrial water withdrawal in Australia peaked at 3.74 billion cubic meters in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.23 billion cubic meters, in 2001.
That places Australia 28th out of 180 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Industrial water withdrawal in Australia, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2.23 billion cubic meters | — |
| 2002 | 2.25 billion cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 2.28 billion cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 2.31 billion cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 2.33 billion cubic meters | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 2.40 billion cubic meters | +3.1% |
| 2007 | 2.48 billion cubic meters | +3.0% |
| 2008 | 2.55 billion cubic meters | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 2.62 billion cubic meters | +2.8% |
| 2010 | 2.57 billion cubic meters | -1.7% |
| 2011 | 2.73 billion cubic meters | +5.9% |
| 2012 | 2.69 billion cubic meters | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 2.52 billion cubic meters | -6.3% |
| 2014 | 2.66 billion cubic meters | +5.7% |
| 2015 | 2.77 billion cubic meters | +3.9% |
| 2016 | 3.56 billion cubic meters | +28.6% |
| 2017 | 2.72 billion cubic meters | -23.7% |
| 2018 | 2.95 billion cubic meters | +8.5% |
| 2019 | 2.74 billion cubic meters | -7.0% |
| 2020 | 2.98 billion cubic meters | +8.8% |
| 2021 | 3.18 billion cubic meters | +6.7% |
| 2022 | 3.74 billion cubic meters | +17.6% |
| 2023 | 3.12 billion cubic meters | -16.6% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 3.12 billion cubic meters is above the median for high income countries, which is 668.45 million cubic meters, 4.7× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Australia's 3.12 billion cubic meters is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.18 billion cubic meters, 2.6× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.38 billion cubic meters | 2.23 billion cubic meters | 2.62 billion cubic meters | 9 |
| 2010s | 2.79 billion cubic meters | 2.52 billion cubic meters | 3.56 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.25 billion cubic meters | 2.98 billion cubic meters | 3.74 billion cubic meters | 4 |
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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2559 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 2.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is industrial water withdrawal in Australia?
- Industrial water withdrawal in Australia was 3.12 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest industrial water withdrawal recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.74 billion cubic meters in 2022.
- What is the lowest industrial water withdrawal recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.23 billion cubic meters in 2001.
- How does Australia rank for industrial water withdrawal?
- Australia ranks 28th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is industrial water withdrawal rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Industrial water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year by self-supplied industries.