Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Australia and New Zealand
Australia and New Zealand: Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of was 5.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Australia and New Zealand, 2000–2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
In 2023, level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Australia and New Zealand stood at 5.6%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.3% on the previous year and down 26.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Australia and New Zealand peaked at 7.8% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 5.0%, in 2020.
Australia and New Zealand ranks 125th of 196 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Australia and New Zealand, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 6.9% | — |
| 2001 | 6.9% | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 6.8% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 6.7% | -1.9% |
| 2004 | 6.5% | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 6.4% | -1.8% |
| 2006 | 6.2% | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 5.9% | -4.9% |
| 2008 | 5.6% | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 5.3% | -5.4% |
| 2010 | 5.0% | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 5.4% | +6.5% |
| 2012 | 6.4% | +19.6% |
| 2013 | 7.6% | +19.0% |
| 2014 | 7.8% | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 5.2% | -32.6% |
| 2016 | 5.6% | +7.3% |
| 2017 | 6.0% | +7.1% |
| 2018 | 6.1% | +1.2% |
| 2019 | 5.6% | -7.9% |
| 2020 | 5.0% | -10.7% |
| 2021 | 5.7% | +14.6% |
| 2022 | 5.9% | +2.8% |
| 2023 | 5.6% | -5.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.3% | 5.3% | 6.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.1% | 5.0% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.6% | 5.0% | 5.9% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia and New Zealand
- 122 Myanmar 5.8% compare
- 123 Guatemala 5.7% compare
- 124 Bangladesh 5.7% compare
- 126 Côte d'Ivoire 5.1% compare
- 126 Côte d'Ivoire 5.1% compare
- 128 Mongolia 5.0% compare
More environment data for Australia and New Zealand
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.87 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.39 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.39 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.335 °C (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 4.99 million t (2024)
- Recovered paper — Production 2.98 million t (2024)
- Agricultural land — Value of agricultural production (Int. $) per Area 187.5 USD_PPP/ha (2024)
- Arable land — Area 31,787 1000 ha (2024)
- Cropland — Area per capita 1.01 ha/cap (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Australia and New Zealand?
- Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Australia and New Zealand was 5.6% in 2023, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of recorded in Australia and New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 7.8% in 2014.
- What is the lowest level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of recorded in Australia and New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.0% in 2020.
- How does Australia and New Zealand rank for level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of?
- Australia and New Zealand ranks 125th out of 196 countries with data for 2023.
- Is level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of rising or falling in Australia and New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia and New Zealand data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).