Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Iceland
Iceland: Lakes and rivers permanent water area was 1.6% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Iceland, 2000–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Iceland stood at 1.6%. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
The figure is up 3.4% on the previous year and up 16.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Iceland peaked at 1.6% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 2000.
Iceland ranks 34th of 221 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Iceland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.6% | — |
| 2001 | 0.9% | +51.8% |
| 2002 | 1.1% | +32.6% |
| 2003 | 1.4% | +25.2% |
| 2004 | 1.4% | -1.0% |
| 2005 | 1.4% | -0.9% |
| 2006 | 1.4% | -1.9% |
| 2007 | 1.4% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 1.4% | -1.2% |
| 2009 | 1.4% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 1.4% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 1.4% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 1.4% | -0.6% |
| 2013 | 1.4% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 1.4% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 1.4% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 1.4% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 1.5% | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 1.5% | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 1.5% | -0.6% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | +1.6% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | +4.5% |
| 2022 | 1.6% | +3.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.2% | 0.6% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
- 31 Cambodia 1.9% compare
- 32 Turks and Caicos Islands 1.8% compare
- 33 North Macedonia 1.8% compare
- 35 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1.5% compare
- 36 Chile 1.5% compare
- 37 Cayman Islands 1.4% compare
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Sawnwood — Production, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood — Production, per capita 0 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood — Import quantity, annual growth rate -11.61 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood — Import quantity, per capita 0.1373 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood — Import value, annual growth rate 6.5 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lakes and rivers permanent water area in Iceland?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Iceland was 1.6% in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 1.6% in 2022.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 2000.
- How does Iceland rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area?
- Iceland ranks 34th out of 221 countries with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers permanent water area rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 16.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iceland 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).