Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Lakes and rivers permanent water area change was 4.8% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2005–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
The most recent figure for lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Sub-Saharan Africa is 4.8%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 18 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 32.2% on the previous year and up 35.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 4.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 2007.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 17th of 34 groups on this measure, 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 Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 3.7% | — |
| 2006 | 3.3% | -10.5% |
| 2007 | 2.8% | -13.5% |
| 2008 | 3.2% | +11.5% |
| 2009 | 3.1% | -3.2% |
| 2010 | 3.2% | +5.0% |
| 2011 | 3.3% | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 3.5% | +7.3% |
| 2013 | 3.5% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 3.6% | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 3.7% | +4.1% |
| 2016 | 3.7% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3.5% | -6.5% |
| 2018 | 3.5% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 3.4% | -1.6% |
| 2020 | 3.2% | -7.3% |
| 2021 | 3.6% | +14.8% |
| 2022 | 4.8% | +32.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 3.2% | 2.8% | 3.7% | 5 |
| 2010s | 3.5% | 3.2% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.9% | 3.2% | 4.8% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 72.81 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area change in Sub-Saharan Africa was 4.8% in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area change recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.8% in 2022.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area change recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 2007.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area change?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 17th out of 34 groups with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers permanent water area change rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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).