Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Bhutan
Bhutan: Lakes and rivers permanent water area change was 8.6% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Bhutan, 2005–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
The most recent figure for lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Bhutan is 8.6%, measured in 2022.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 7.7% on the previous year and down 33.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Bhutan peaked at 15.4% in 2015 and was at its lowest, -0.2%, in 2005.
That places Bhutan 141st out of 251 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 18 years of available data.
Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Bhutan, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | -0.2% | — |
| 2006 | 8.5% | -3669.7% |
| 2007 | 12.8% | +49.7% |
| 2008 | 12.8% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 13.1% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 12.5% | -4.0% |
| 2011 | 12.7% | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 13.0% | +2.1% |
| 2013 | 14.5% | +11.4% |
| 2014 | 14.8% | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 15.4% | +3.8% |
| 2016 | 14.3% | -7.3% |
| 2017 | 13.3% | -6.8% |
| 2018 | 12.7% | -4.4% |
| 2019 | 11.7% | -8.4% |
| 2020 | 9.8% | -15.9% |
| 2021 | 9.3% | -5.0% |
| 2022 | 8.6% | -7.7% |
Bhutan compared with similar countries
- Bhutan's 8.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 8.6%, 1.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
- Bhutan's 8.6% is above the median for South Asia, which is 8.6%, 1.0× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Bhutan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +3669.7% | -0.2% | 8.5% |
| 2007 | +49.7% | 8.5% | 12.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.4% | -0.2% | 13.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 13.5% | 11.7% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.2% | 8.6% | 9.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Bhutan
More environment data for Bhutan
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.2782 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.5977 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.257 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.08 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.487 % 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 -5.53 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Bhutan?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Bhutan was 8.6% in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area change recorded in Bhutan?
- The highest recorded value was 15.4% in 2015.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area change recorded in Bhutan?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.2% in 2005.
- How does Bhutan rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area change?
- Bhutan ranks 141st out of 251 countries with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers permanent water area change rising or falling in Bhutan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bhutan data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Lakes and rivers permanent water area change (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).