Lakes and rivers permanent water area in India
India: Lakes and rivers permanent water area was 0.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in India, 2000–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2022, lakes and rivers permanent water area in India stood at 0.3%. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.2% on the previous year and up 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area in India peaked at 0.3% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2002.
That places India 134th out of 221 countries 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 India, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0.2% | — |
| 2001 | 0.2% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 0.2% | -0.7% |
| 2003 | 0.2% | +8.5% |
| 2004 | 0.2% | +9.6% |
| 2005 | 0.2% | -5.8% |
| 2006 | 0.2% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 0.2% | +1.1% |
| 2008 | 0.2% | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 0.2% | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 0.2% | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 0.2% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 0.2% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 0.2% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 0.2% | -0.7% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 0.2% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 0.2% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | +4.9% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | +3.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 3 |
Countries ranked near India
More environment data for India
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 11.05 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.954 °C (2025)
- Sawnwood — Export quantity, per unit of GDP 0 m3 per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood — Export quantity, per capita 0 m3 per person (2024)
- Sawnwood — Export value, annual growth rate 8.96 % change on previous year (2024)
- Sawnwood — Export value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Sawnwood — Export value, per capita 0 1000 USD per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lakes and rivers permanent water area in India?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area in India was 0.3% in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in India?
- The highest recorded value was 0.3% in 2022.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in India?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2002.
- How does India rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area?
- India ranks 134th out of 221 countries with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers permanent water area rising or falling in India?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this India 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.
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CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).