Inland waters — Area in Australia
Australia: Inland waters — Area was 4,920 1000 ha in 2024. ▼ Falling
Inland waters — Area in Australia, 1961–2024
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Measured in 1000 ha.
Analysis
The most recent figure for inland waters — area in Australia is 4,920 1000 ha, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 64 years on record.
The figure is down 16.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, inland waters — area in Australia peaked at 5,892 1000 ha in 1961 and was at its lowest, 4,920 1000 ha, in 2016.
That places Australia 16th out of 188 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 64 years of available data.
Inland waters — Area in Australia, year by year
| Year | 1000 ha | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 5,892 1000 ha | — |
| 1962 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5,892 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4,920 1000 ha | -16.5% |
| 2017 | 4,920 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4,920 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4,920 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4,920 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4,920 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4,920 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4,920 1000 ha | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4,920 1000 ha | +0.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 4,920 1000 ha is above the median for high income countries, which is 217 1000 ha, 22.7× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Australia's 4,920 1000 ha is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 445.75 1000 ha, 11.0× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 9 |
| 1970s | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1980s | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 10 |
| 1990s | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2000s | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2010s | 5,503 1000 ha | 4,920 1000 ha | 5,892 1000 ha | 10 |
| 2020s | 4,920 1000 ha | 4,920 1000 ha | 4,920 1000 ha | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 13 Democratic Republic of the Congo 7,781 1000 ha compare
- 14 United Republic of Tanzania 6,150 1000 ha compare
- 15 Australia and New Zealand 5,360 1000 ha compare
- 17 Uganda 4,730 1000 ha compare
- 18 Argentina 4,371 1000 ha compare
- 19 Sweden 4,016 1000 ha compare
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)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is inland waters — area in Australia?
- Inland waters — area in Australia was 4,920 1000 ha in 2024, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- What is the highest inland waters — area recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 5,892 1000 ha in 1961.
- What is the lowest inland waters — area recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 4,920 1000 ha in 2016.
- How does Australia rank for inland waters — area?
- Australia ranks 16th out of 188 countries with data for 2024.
- Is inland waters — area rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (FAO).
About this data
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.