Municipal water withdrawal in Brazil
Brazil: Municipal water withdrawal was 15.63 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
15.63 billion cubic meters
Change on year
down 4.7%
World rank
6th
of 183 countries
All-time high
17.21 billion cubic meters
in 2010
All-time low
11.50 billion cubic meters
in 1996
Years of data
28
1996–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Brazil, 1996–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
Brazil recorded 15.63 billion cubic meters for municipal water withdrawal in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.7% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Brazil peaked at 17.21 billion cubic meters in 2010 and was at its lowest, 11.50 billion cubic meters, in 1996.
Brazil ranks 6th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Brazil, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 11.50 billion cubic meters | — |
| 1997 | 11.97 billion cubic meters | +4.1% |
| 1998 | 12.45 billion cubic meters | +4.0% |
| 1999 | 12.92 billion cubic meters | +3.8% |
| 2000 | 13.39 billion cubic meters | +3.7% |
| 2001 | 13.87 billion cubic meters | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 14.34 billion cubic meters | +3.4% |
| 2003 | 14.81 billion cubic meters | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 15.28 billion cubic meters | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 15.76 billion cubic meters | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 16.23 billion cubic meters | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 16.48 billion cubic meters | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 16.72 billion cubic meters | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 16.96 billion cubic meters | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 17.21 billion cubic meters | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 16.98 billion cubic meters | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 16.76 billion cubic meters | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 16.54 billion cubic meters | -1.3% |
| 2014 | 16.31 billion cubic meters | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 16.47 billion cubic meters | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 16.59 billion cubic meters | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 16.74 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 15.85 billion cubic meters | -5.3% |
| 2019 | 15.98 billion cubic meters | +0.8% |
| 2020 | 16.13 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 16.26 billion cubic meters | +0.8% |
| 2022 | 16.40 billion cubic meters | +0.8% |
| 2023 | 15.63 billion cubic meters | -4.7% |
Brazil compared with similar countries
- Brazil's 15.63 billion cubic meters is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 542.00 million cubic meters, 28.8× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Brazil's 15.63 billion cubic meters is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 350.93 million cubic meters, 44.5× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.21 billion cubic meters | 11.50 billion cubic meters | 12.92 billion cubic meters | 4 |
| 2000s | 15.38 billion cubic meters | 13.39 billion cubic meters | 16.96 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.54 billion cubic meters | 15.85 billion cubic meters | 17.21 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.10 billion cubic meters | 15.63 billion cubic meters | 16.40 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Brazil
More environment data for Brazil
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -6.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -8.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.221 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.36 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.85 % 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) 2.52 % 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 Brazil?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Brazil was 15.63 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 Brazil?
- The highest recorded value was 17.21 billion cubic meters in 2010.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Brazil?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.50 billion cubic meters in 1996.
- How does Brazil rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Brazil ranks 6th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Brazil?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Brazil 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 — 28 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.