Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Africa
Northern Africa: Lakes and rivers permanent water area was 3,605 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Africa, 2000–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
In 2022, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Africa stood at 3,605. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
That represents a change of up 10.6% on the previous year and up 35.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Africa peaked at 3,605 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 750.74, in 2000.
That places Northern Africa 27th out of 34 groups with data for 2022, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 750.74 | — |
| 2001 | 1,240 | +65.2% |
| 2002 | 1,836 | +48.0% |
| 2003 | 2,436 | +32.7% |
| 2004 | 2,741 | +12.5% |
| 2005 | 2,883 | +5.2% |
| 2006 | 2,870 | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 2,762 | -3.8% |
| 2008 | 2,933 | +6.2% |
| 2009 | 2,796 | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 2,770 | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 2,739 | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 2,664 | -2.7% |
| 2013 | 2,584 | -3.0% |
| 2016 | 2,516 | -2.6% |
| 2017 | 2,637 | +4.8% |
| 2018 | 2,790 | +5.8% |
| 2019 | 2,930 | +5.0% |
| 2020 | 3,096 | +5.7% |
| 2021 | 3,260 | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 3,605 | +10.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2,325 | 750.74 | 2,933 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2,704 | 2,516 | 2,930 | 8 |
| 2020s | 3,320 | 3,096 | 3,605 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Northern Africa
More environment data for Northern Africa
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -13.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -20 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.281 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.61 °C (2025)
- Recovered paper — Production 701,000 t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 864,000 t (2024)
- Agricultural land — Share in Land area 27.72 % (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per area of cropland 4.57 kg/ha (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per capita 0.84 kg/cap (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Africa?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Africa was 3,605 in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Northern Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 3,605 in 2022.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Northern Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 750.74 in 2000.
- How does Northern Africa rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area?
- Northern Africa ranks 27th out of 34 groups with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers permanent water area rising or falling in Northern Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Northern 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 (square kilometres). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).