Inland waters — Area in Africa

Africa: Inland waters — Area was 44,434 1000 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
44,434 1000 ha
Change on year
down 0.0%
Rank
10th
of 32 groups
All-time high
55,232 1000 ha
in 1990
All-time low
43,839 1000 ha
in 2010
Years of data
64
1961–2024

Inland waters — Area in Africa, 1961–2024

020.0k40.0k60.0k196119922024

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.

Analysis

The most recent figure for inland waters — area in Africa is 44,434 1000 ha, measured in 2024.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, inland waters — area in Africa peaked at 55,232 1000 ha in 1990 and was at its lowest, 43,839 1000 ha, in 2010.

Africa ranks 10th of 32 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.

Inland waters — Area in Africa, year by year

Annual values for Inland waters — Area in Africa, 1961 to 2024.
Year 1000 ha Change
1961 55,148 1000 ha —
1962 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1963 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1964 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1965 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1966 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1967 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1968 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1969 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1970 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1971 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1972 55,148 1000 ha +0.0%
1973 55,152 1000 ha +0.0%
1974 55,192 1000 ha +0.1%
1975 55,232 1000 ha +0.1%
1976 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1977 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1978 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1979 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1980 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1981 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1982 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1983 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1984 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1985 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1986 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1987 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1988 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1989 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1990 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1991 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1992 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1993 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1994 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1995 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1996 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1997 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1998 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
1999 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
2000 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
2001 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
2002 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
2003 55,232 1000 ha +0.0%
2004 43,918 1000 ha -20.5%
2005 43,908 1000 ha -0.0%
2006 43,906 1000 ha -0.0%
2007 43,908 1000 ha +0.0%
2008 43,911 1000 ha +0.0%
2009 43,910 1000 ha -0.0%
2010 43,839 1000 ha -0.2%
2011 43,847 1000 ha +0.0%
2012 43,849 1000 ha +0.0%
2013 43,847 1000 ha -0.0%
2014 43,847 1000 ha -0.0%
2015 44,186 1000 ha +0.8%
2016 44,181 1000 ha -0.0%
2017 44,243 1000 ha +0.1%
2018 44,244 1000 ha +0.0%
2019 44,316 1000 ha +0.2%
2020 44,218 1000 ha -0.2%
2021 44,405 1000 ha +0.4%
2022 44,421 1000 ha +0.0%
2023 44,434 1000 ha +0.0%
2024 44,434 1000 ha -0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 55,148 1000 ha 55,148 1000 ha 55,148 1000 ha 9
1970s 55,195 1000 ha 55,148 1000 ha 55,232 1000 ha 10
1980s 55,232 1000 ha 55,232 1000 ha 55,232 1000 ha 10
1990s 55,232 1000 ha 55,232 1000 ha 55,232 1000 ha 10
2000s 48,439 1000 ha 43,906 1000 ha 55,232 1000 ha 10
2010s 44,040 1000 ha 43,839 1000 ha 44,316 1000 ha 10
2020s 44,382 1000 ha 44,218 1000 ha 44,434 1000 ha 5

Countries ranked near Africa

  1. 7 India 31,407 1000 ha compare
  2. 8 China 17,531 1000 ha compare
  3. 9 China, mainland 17,470 1000 ha compare
  4. 10 Brazil 15,763 1000 ha compare
  5. 11 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 12,265 1000 ha compare
  6. 12 Ethiopia PDR 12,090 1000 ha compare
  7. 13 Democratic Republic of the Congo 7,781 1000 ha compare

See the full ranking of 220 places →

More environment data for Africa

All data for Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is inland waters — area in Africa?
Inland waters — area in Africa was 44,434 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
What is the highest inland waters — area recorded in Africa?
The highest recorded value was 55,232 1000 ha in 1990.
What is the lowest inland waters — area recorded in Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 43,839 1000 ha in 2010.
How does Africa rank for inland waters — area?
Africa ranks 10th out of 32 groups with data for 2024.
Is inland waters — area rising or falling in Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Africa data come from?
The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, published as part of Inland waters — Area. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Inland waters — Area in Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/inland-waters-area/africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Inland waters — Area
Unit
1000 ha
Source
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO)
Coverage
220 places, 12,677 data points, 1961–2024
Last refreshed

The FAOSTAT Land Use domain contains data on twenty-one land use categories and twenty-three categories of irrigation and agricultural practices. Data are available yearly and by country, regional and global levels. The domain includes Land Use Indicators providing information on the percentage share of agricultural and forest land, and their sub-components, including irrigated areas and areas under organic agriculture, within a country land use matrix. Data are available at country, regional and global level, for the following elements: (in percentage) i) Share in Land area; ii) Share in Agricultural land, iii) Share in Cropland; and iv) Share in Forest land; (in ha/pc) v) Area per capita.