Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Western Europe
Western Europe: Lakes and rivers permanent water area was 8,696 in 2022. ▲ Rising
Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Western Europe, 2000–2022
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
Western Europe recorded 8,696 for lakes and rivers permanent water area in 2022. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 7.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lakes and rivers permanent water area in Western Europe peaked at 8,696 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3,172, in 2000.
That places Western Europe 24th 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 Western Europe, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 3,172 | — |
| 2001 | 4,756 | +49.9% |
| 2002 | 6,322 | +32.9% |
| 2003 | 7,299 | +15.4% |
| 2004 | 7,894 | +8.2% |
| 2005 | 7,987 | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 8,018 | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 8,080 | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 8,096 | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 8,053 | -0.5% |
| 2010 | 8,045 | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 8,073 | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 8,081 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 8,081 | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 8,199 | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 8,253 | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 8,562 | +3.7% |
| 2017 | 8,622 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 8,672 | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 8,675 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8,658 | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 8,691 | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 8,696 | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6,968 | 3,172 | 8,096 | 10 |
| 2010s | 8,326 | 8,045 | 8,675 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8,682 | 8,658 | 8,696 | 3 |
Countries ranked near Western Europe
- 21 Mozambique 8,223 compare
- 22 Uganda 7,921 compare
- 23 Kenya 7,914 compare
- 24 Australia and New Zealand 7,761 compare
- 25 Colombia 7,157 compare
- 26 Kyrgyzstan 6,977 compare
- 27 Ethiopia 6,551 compare
More environment data for Western Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.94 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.1 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.485 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.23 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate -4.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, annual growth rate 9.31 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 6.92 % change on previous year (2024)
- Printing and writing papers — Import value, annual growth rate -2.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Printing and writing papers — Import quantity, annual growth rate 2.99 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is lakes and rivers permanent water area in Western Europe?
- Lakes and rivers permanent water area in Western Europe was 8,696 in 2022, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Western Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 8,696 in 2022.
- What is the lowest lakes and rivers permanent water area recorded in Western Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was 3,172 in 2000.
- How does Western Europe rank for lakes and rivers permanent water area?
- Western Europe ranks 24th out of 34 groups with data for 2022.
- Is lakes and rivers permanent water area rising or falling in Western Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Western 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).