Municipal water withdrawal in Australia
Australia: Municipal water withdrawal was 2.04 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▼ Falling
Municipal water withdrawal in Australia, 2001–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
In 2023, municipal water withdrawal in Australia stood at 2.04 billion cubic meters. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 15.0% on the previous year and down 52.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Australia peaked at 4.44 billion cubic meters in 2001 and was at its lowest, 2.04 billion cubic meters, in 2023.
Australia ranks 38th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Australia, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 4.44 billion cubic meters | — |
| 2002 | 4.38 billion cubic meters | -1.4% |
| 2003 | 4.32 billion cubic meters | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 4.25 billion cubic meters | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 4.19 billion cubic meters | -1.5% |
| 2006 | 4.18 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 4.16 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 4.14 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 2009 | 4.13 billion cubic meters | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 3.74 billion cubic meters | -9.4% |
| 2011 | 3.26 billion cubic meters | -12.8% |
| 2012 | 3.74 billion cubic meters | +14.8% |
| 2013 | 4.26 billion cubic meters | +13.8% |
| 2014 | 4.17 billion cubic meters | -2.2% |
| 2015 | 4.01 billion cubic meters | -3.6% |
| 2016 | 3.91 billion cubic meters | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 2.61 billion cubic meters | -33.3% |
| 2018 | 2.30 billion cubic meters | -12.0% |
| 2019 | 2.49 billion cubic meters | +8.4% |
| 2020 | 2.11 billion cubic meters | -15.3% |
| 2021 | 2.36 billion cubic meters | +11.8% |
| 2022 | 2.40 billion cubic meters | +1.7% |
| 2023 | 2.04 billion cubic meters | -15.0% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 2.04 billion cubic meters is above the median for high income countries, which is 699.00 million cubic meters, 2.9× the median. (61 countries reporting)
- Australia's 2.04 billion cubic meters is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.04 billion cubic meters, 2.0× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Municipal water withdrawal in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | -33.3% | 3.91 billion cubic meters | 2.61 billion cubic meters |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.24 billion cubic meters | 4.13 billion cubic meters | 4.44 billion cubic meters | 9 |
| 2010s | 3.45 billion cubic meters | 2.30 billion cubic meters | 4.26 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.23 billion cubic meters | 2.04 billion cubic meters | 2.40 billion cubic meters | 4 |
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)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.2559 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e) 2.87 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) (Mt CO2e), per 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water withdrawal in Australia?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Australia was 2.04 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 4.44 billion cubic meters in 2001.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.04 billion cubic meters in 2023.
- How does Australia rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Australia ranks 38th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 52.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal water withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year for direct use by the population, usually measured as the total supplied by the public distribution network.