Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa: Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of was 9.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Sub-Saharan Africa, 2000–2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
Sub-Saharan Africa recorded 9.8% for level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.8% on the previous year and up 18.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Sub-Saharan Africa peaked at 10.2% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2000.
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 19th of 28 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Sub-Saharan Africa, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.3% | — |
| 2001 | 4.5% | +4.5% |
| 2002 | 5.1% | +13.9% |
| 2003 | 5.2% | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 5.2% | -0.8% |
| 2005 | 5.4% | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 6.5% | +20.6% |
| 2007 | 6.4% | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 6.3% | -1.6% |
| 2009 | 6.2% | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 7.6% | +22.3% |
| 2011 | 7.8% | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 8.1% | +3.2% |
| 2013 | 8.2% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 8.4% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 8.9% | +4.9% |
| 2016 | 9.5% | +7.6% |
| 2017 | 9.3% | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 9.7% | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 10.0% | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 10.2% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 10.2% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 10.2% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 9.8% | -4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.5% | 4.3% | 6.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.8% | 7.6% | 10.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.1% | 9.8% | 10.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sub-Saharan Africa
More environment data for Sub-Saharan Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.11 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.223 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.21 °C (2025)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 305.43 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Aquaculture production 904,662 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 2.29 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 2.96 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Permanent meadows and pastures — Share in Agricultural land 72.81 % (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of in Sub-Saharan Africa was 9.8% 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 Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 10.2% in 2022.
- What is the lowest level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of recorded in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2000.
- How does Sub-Saharan Africa rank for level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of?
- Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 19th out of 28 groups with data for 2023.
- Is level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of rising or falling in Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sub-Saharan Africa 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).