Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Europe

Northern Europe: Lakes and rivers permanent water area was 68,851 in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
68,851
Change on year
up 0.6%
Rank
20th
of 34 groups
All-time high
68,851
in 2022
All-time low
29,267
in 2000
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Europe, 2000–2022

020.0k40.0k60.0k2000201120222000: 29.3k2001: 42.6k2002: 55.9k2003: 65.8k2004: 65.1k2005: 65.6k2006: 65.4k2007: 65.5k2008: 65.2k2009: 65.4k2010: 65.4k2011: 65.4k2012: 65.3k2013: 65.0k2014: 66.3k2015: 66.6k2016: 67.1k2017: 67.4k2018: 68.2k2019: 68.2k2020: 68.1k2021: 68.5k2022: 68.9k

Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.

Analysis

In 2022, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Europe stood at 68,851. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 5.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Europe peaked at 68,851 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 29,267, in 2000.

That places Northern Europe 20th out of 34 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 Northern Europe, year by year

Annual values for Lakes and rivers permanent water area (square kilometres) in Northern Europe, 2000 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2000 29,267
2001 42,600 +45.6%
2002 55,879 +31.2%
2003 65,830 +17.8%
2004 65,082 -1.1%
2005 65,580 +0.8%
2006 65,403 -0.3%
2007 65,522 +0.2%
2008 65,244 -0.4%
2009 65,371 +0.2%
2010 65,416 +0.1%
2011 65,440 +0.0%
2012 65,341 -0.2%
2013 65,029 -0.5%
2014 66,333 +2.0%
2015 66,623 +0.4%
2016 67,088 +0.7%
2017 67,405 +0.5%
2018 68,208 +1.2%
2019 68,217 +0.0%
2020 68,133 -0.1%
2021 68,455 +0.5%
2022 68,851 +0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 58,578 29,267 65,830 10
2010s 66,510 65,029 68,217 10
2020s 68,480 68,133 68,851 3

Countries ranked near Northern Europe

  1. 17 Zambia 9,106 compare
  2. 18 Indonesia 8,731 compare
  3. 19 Uzbekistan 8,684 compare
  4. 20 India 8,260 compare
  5. 21 Mozambique 8,223 compare
  6. 22 Uganda 7,921 compare
  7. 23 Kenya 7,914 compare

See the full ranking of 277 places →

More environment data for Northern Europe

All data for Northern Europe →

Frequently asked questions

What is lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Europe?
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Europe was 68,851 in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Northern Europe?
The highest recorded value was 68,851 in 2022.
What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Northern Europe?
The lowest recorded value was 29,267 in 2000.
How does Northern Europe rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area?
Northern Europe ranks 20th out of 34 groups with data for 2022.
Is lakes and rivers permanent water area rising or falling in Northern Europe?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Northern 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.

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Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Northern Europe. Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/lakes-and-rivers-permanent-water-area-square-kilometres/northern-europe/

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About this data

Indicator
Lakes and rivers permanent water area (square kilometres)
Source
United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database
Licence
UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested)
Coverage
277 places, 6,369 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed