Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe
Europe: Lakes and rivers permanent water area was 2.2% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe, 2000–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe stood at 2.2%.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe peaked at 2.2% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2000.
That places Europe 11th out of 37 groups with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.8% | — |
| 2001 | 1.2% | +43.6% |
| 2002 | 1.6% | +33.6% |
| 2003 | 1.9% | +22.4% |
| 2004 | 2.0% | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 2.1% | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 2.1% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 2.1% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 2.1% | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 2.1% | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 2.1% | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 2.2% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 2.2% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 2.2% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 2.2% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 2.2% | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 2.2% | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 2.2% | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.8% | 0.8% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.2% | 2.1% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Europe
More environment data for Europe
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.33 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 in Europe?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe was 2.2% in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 2019.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2000.
- How does Europe rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area?
- Europe ranks 11th out of 37 groups with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers permanent water area rising or falling in Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.3%. 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 (% of total land area). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).