Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe
Europe: Lakes and rivers permanent water area was 520,376 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe, 2000–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
In 2022, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe stood at 520,376.
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 521,882 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 193,515, in 2000.
That places Europe 5th out of 34 regions with data for 2022, putting it 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 Europe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 193,515 | — |
| 2001 | 277,977 | +43.6% |
| 2002 | 371,174 | +33.5% |
| 2003 | 454,488 | +22.4% |
| 2004 | 474,415 | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 486,339 | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 485,087 | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 485,794 | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 490,364 | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 498,353 | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 502,919 | +0.9% |
| 2011 | 502,824 | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 503,573 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 499,745 | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 504,463 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 506,062 | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 511,191 | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 514,227 | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 520,636 | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 521,882 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 521,214 | -0.1% |
| 2021 | 521,135 | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 520,376 | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 421,751 | 193,515 | 498,353 | 10 |
| 2010s | 508,752 | 499,745 | 521,882 | 10 |
| 2020s | 520,908 | 520,376 | 521,214 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Europe
- 2 Russian Federation 425,204 compare
- 3 Kazakhstan 155,467 compare
- 4 China (People’s Republic of) 101,751 compare
- 5 Turkmenistan 88,527 compare
- 6 Azerbaijan 78,372 compare
- 7 Brazil 61,477 compare
- 8 Argentina 25,229 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 in Europe?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Europe was 520,376 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 521,882 in 2019.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 193,515 in 2000.
- How does Europe rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area?
- Europe ranks 5th out of 34 regions 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 (square kilometres). 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).