Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Europe
Europe: Lakes and rivers permanent water area change was 11.8% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Europe, 2005–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
Europe recorded 11.8% for lakes and rivers permanent water area change in 2022.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and up 43.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Europe peaked at 12.2% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2006.
That places Europe 11th out of 34 regions 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.1% | 4.3% | 7.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 9.3% | 7.4% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.0% | 11.8% | 12.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Europe
- 8 Sao Tome and Principe 299.6% compare
- 9 Pitcairn 299.0% compare
- 10 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 265.7% compare
- 11 Solomon Islands 264.4% compare
- 12 French Polynesia 255.2% compare
- 13 Kiribati 233.4% compare
- 14 Sudan 225.3% compare
More environment data for Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.33 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.435 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.71 °C (2025)
- Recovered paper — Production 57.94 million t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 101.18 million t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per area of cropland 49.53 kg/ha (2024)
- Pesticides (total) — Export value 16.44 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Import quantity 11.92 million t (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Europe?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Europe was 11.8% in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area change recorded in Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 12.2% in 2019.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area change recorded in Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2006.
- How does Europe rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area change?
- Europe ranks 11th out of 34 regions with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers permanent water area change rising or falling in Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Europe 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).