Industrial water withdrawal in India
India: Industrial water withdrawal was 17.00 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
17.00 billion cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
5th
of 180 countries
All-time high
17.00 billion cubic meters
in 2010
All-time low
10.00 billion cubic meters
in 1985
Years of data
49
1975–2023
Industrial water withdrawal in India, 1975–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
India recorded 17.00 billion cubic meters for industrial water withdrawal in 2023. That is the highest value across all 49 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, industrial water withdrawal in India peaked at 17.00 billion cubic meters in 2010 and was at its lowest, 10.00 billion cubic meters, in 1985.
That places India 5th out of 180 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Industrial water withdrawal in India, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 15.20 billion cubic meters | — |
| 1976 | 14.68 billion cubic meters | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 14.16 billion cubic meters | -3.5% |
| 1978 | 13.64 billion cubic meters | -3.7% |
| 1979 | 13.12 billion cubic meters | -3.8% |
| 1980 | 12.60 billion cubic meters | -4.0% |
| 1981 | 12.08 billion cubic meters | -4.1% |
| 1982 | 11.56 billion cubic meters | -4.3% |
| 1983 | 11.04 billion cubic meters | -4.5% |
| 1984 | 10.52 billion cubic meters | -4.7% |
| 1985 | 10.00 billion cubic meters | -4.9% |
| 1986 | 11.00 billion cubic meters | +10.0% |
| 1987 | 12.00 billion cubic meters | +9.1% |
| 1988 | 13.00 billion cubic meters | +8.3% |
| 1989 | 14.00 billion cubic meters | +7.7% |
| 1990 | 15.00 billion cubic meters | +7.1% |
| 1991 | 14.50 billion cubic meters | -3.3% |
| 1992 | 14.00 billion cubic meters | -3.4% |
| 1993 | 13.50 billion cubic meters | -3.6% |
| 1994 | 13.00 billion cubic meters | -3.7% |
| 1995 | 12.50 billion cubic meters | -3.8% |
| 1996 | 12.00 billion cubic meters | -4.0% |
| 1997 | 11.50 billion cubic meters | -4.2% |
| 1998 | 11.00 billion cubic meters | -4.3% |
| 1999 | 10.50 billion cubic meters | -4.5% |
| 2000 | 10.00 billion cubic meters | -4.8% |
| 2001 | 10.70 billion cubic meters | +7.0% |
| 2002 | 11.40 billion cubic meters | +6.5% |
| 2003 | 12.10 billion cubic meters | +6.1% |
| 2004 | 12.80 billion cubic meters | +5.8% |
| 2005 | 13.50 billion cubic meters | +5.5% |
| 2006 | 14.20 billion cubic meters | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 14.90 billion cubic meters | +4.9% |
| 2008 | 15.60 billion cubic meters | +4.7% |
| 2009 | 16.30 billion cubic meters | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +4.3% |
| 2011 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 17.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
India compared with similar countries
- India's 17.00 billion cubic meters is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 80.80 million cubic meters, 210.4× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- India's 17.00 billion cubic meters is above the median for South Asia, which is 399.75 million cubic meters, 42.5× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14.16 billion cubic meters | 13.12 billion cubic meters | 15.20 billion cubic meters | 5 |
| 1980s | 11.78 billion cubic meters | 10.00 billion cubic meters | 14.00 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 1990s | 12.75 billion cubic meters | 10.50 billion cubic meters | 15.00 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 13.15 billion cubic meters | 10.00 billion cubic meters | 16.30 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 17.00 billion cubic meters | 17.00 billion cubic meters | 17.00 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.00 billion cubic meters | 17.00 billion cubic meters | 17.00 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 1.78 % 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) 3.01 % 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 India?
- Industrial water withdrawal in India was 17.00 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 India?
- The highest recorded value was 17.00 billion cubic meters in 2010.
- What is the lowest industrial water withdrawal recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.00 billion cubic meters in 1985.
- How does India rank for industrial water withdrawal?
- India ranks 5th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is industrial water withdrawal rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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 — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year by self-supplied industries.