Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia
Australia: Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals was 14.5% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia, 2001–2022
Source: AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total freshwater withdrawal.
Analysis
In 2022, municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia stood at 14.5%.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and down 37.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia peaked at 29.4% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 12.9%, in 2018.
That places Australia 113th out of 180 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of total freshwater withdrawal | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 20.5% | — |
| 2002 | 20.9% | +2.0% |
| 2003 | 21.3% | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 21.8% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 22.3% | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 23.7% | +6.3% |
| 2007 | 25.3% | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 27.2% | +7.3% |
| 2009 | 29.4% | +8.0% |
| 2010 | 27.3% | -6.9% |
| 2011 | 24.4% | -10.6% |
| 2012 | 23.4% | -4.4% |
| 2013 | 21.6% | -7.7% |
| 2014 | 22.4% | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 23.2% | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 23.0% | -0.7% |
| 2017 | 15.0% | -34.8% |
| 2018 | 12.9% | -14.3% |
| 2019 | 15.9% | +23.5% |
| 2020 | 15.6% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 14.4% | -7.8% |
| 2022 | 14.5% | +0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 23.6% | 20.5% | 29.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 20.9% | 12.9% | 27.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 14.8% | 14.4% | 15.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 14.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per unit of GDP 0 t per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import quantity, per capita 0.0326 t per person (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, annual growth rate -4.05 % change on previous year (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Import value, per unit of GDP 0 1000 USD per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia?
- Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia was 14.5% in 2022, according to AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 29.4% in 2009.
- What is the lowest municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.9% in 2018.
- How does Australia rank for municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals?
- Australia ranks 113th out of 180 countries with data for 2022.
- Is municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal water as a share of total water withdrawals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal (domestic) water withdrawals as a percentage of total water withdrawals (which is the sum of water used for agriculture, industry, and municipal purposes).