Municipal water withdrawal in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Municipal water withdrawal was 3.60 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Municipal water withdrawal in Bangladesh, 1987–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
The most recent figure for municipal water withdrawal in Bangladesh is 3.60 billion cubic meters, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 37 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Bangladesh peaked at 3.60 billion cubic meters in 2008 and was at its lowest, 675.00 million cubic meters, in 1987.
Bangladesh ranks 27th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 37 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Bangladesh, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 675.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1988 | 1.02 billion cubic meters | +50.6% |
| 1989 | 1.36 billion cubic meters | +33.6% |
| 1990 | 1.70 billion cubic meters | +25.2% |
| 1991 | 1.81 billion cubic meters | +6.2% |
| 1992 | 1.91 billion cubic meters | +5.8% |
| 1993 | 2.02 billion cubic meters | +5.5% |
| 1994 | 2.12 billion cubic meters | +5.2% |
| 1995 | 2.23 billion cubic meters | +5.0% |
| 1996 | 2.33 billion cubic meters | +4.7% |
| 1997 | 2.44 billion cubic meters | +4.5% |
| 1998 | 2.54 billion cubic meters | +4.3% |
| 1999 | 2.65 billion cubic meters | +4.1% |
| 2000 | 2.76 billion cubic meters | +4.0% |
| 2001 | 2.86 billion cubic meters | +3.8% |
| 2002 | 2.97 billion cubic meters | +3.7% |
| 2003 | 3.07 billion cubic meters | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 3.18 billion cubic meters | +3.4% |
| 2005 | 3.28 billion cubic meters | +3.3% |
| 2006 | 3.39 billion cubic meters | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 3.49 billion cubic meters | +3.1% |
| 2008 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +3.0% |
| 2009 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 3.60 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
Bangladesh compared with similar countries
- Bangladesh's 3.60 billion cubic meters is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 245.90 million cubic meters, 14.6× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Bangladesh's 3.60 billion cubic meters is above the median for South Asia, which is 476.30 million cubic meters, 7.6× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Municipal water withdrawal in Bangladesh 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | +50.6% | 675.00 million cubic meters | 1.02 billion cubic meters |
| 1989 | +33.6% | 1.02 billion cubic meters | 1.36 billion cubic meters |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.02 billion cubic meters | 675.00 million cubic meters | 1.36 billion cubic meters | 3 |
| 1990s | 2.17 billion cubic meters | 1.70 billion cubic meters | 2.65 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.22 billion cubic meters | 2.76 billion cubic meters | 3.60 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.60 billion cubic meters | 3.60 billion cubic meters | 3.60 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.60 billion cubic meters | 3.60 billion cubic meters | 3.60 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
- 24 Spain 4.56 billion cubic meters compare
- 25 Kazakhstan 4.23 billion cubic meters compare
- 26 South Africa 4.23 billion cubic meters compare
- 28 Colombia 3.56 billion cubic meters compare
- 29 Saudi Arabia 3.39 billion cubic meters compare
- 30 Algeria 3.39 billion cubic meters compare
More environment data for Bangladesh
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.59 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.3 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.236 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.67 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.8754 % 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) 3.08 % 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 Bangladesh?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Bangladesh was 3.60 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 Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 3.60 billion cubic meters in 2008.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 675.00 million cubic meters in 1987.
- How does Bangladesh rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Bangladesh ranks 27th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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 — 37 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.