Municipal water withdrawal in Canada
Canada: Municipal water withdrawal was 4.87 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
4.87 billion cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
23rd
of 183 countries
All-time high
5.88 billion cubic meters
in 2007
All-time low
4.87 billion cubic meters
in 2019
Years of data
33
1991–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Canada, 1991–2023
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 Canada stood at 4.87 billion cubic meters.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Canada peaked at 5.88 billion cubic meters in 2007 and was at its lowest, 4.87 billion cubic meters, in 2019.
That places Canada 23rd out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 33 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Canada, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 5.10 billion cubic meters | — |
| 1992 | 5.12 billion cubic meters | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 5.14 billion cubic meters | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 5.16 billion cubic meters | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 5.18 billion cubic meters | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 5.20 billion cubic meters | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 5.31 billion cubic meters | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 5.41 billion cubic meters | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 5.46 billion cubic meters | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 5.52 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2001 | 5.57 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 5.62 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 5.67 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 5.72 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 5.77 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 5.83 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 5.88 billion cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 5.70 billion cubic meters | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 5.52 billion cubic meters | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 5.32 billion cubic meters | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 5.12 billion cubic meters | -3.7% |
| 2012 | 5.08 billion cubic meters | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 5.03 billion cubic meters | -0.9% |
| 2014 | 5.03 billion cubic meters | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 5.02 billion cubic meters | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 4.95 billion cubic meters | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 4.89 billion cubic meters | -1.3% |
| 2018 | 4.88 billion cubic meters | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 4.87 billion cubic meters | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 4.87 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4.87 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4.87 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4.87 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 4.87 billion cubic meters is above the median for high income countries, which is 699.00 million cubic meters, 7.0× the median. (61 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5.23 billion cubic meters | 5.10 billion cubic meters | 5.46 billion cubic meters | 9 |
| 2000s | 5.68 billion cubic meters | 5.52 billion cubic meters | 5.88 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.02 billion cubic meters | 4.87 billion cubic meters | 5.32 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.87 billion cubic meters | 4.87 billion cubic meters | 4.87 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More environment data for Canada
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -6.76 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.642 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.96 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 2.21 % 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) 3.27 % 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 Canada?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Canada was 4.87 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 5.88 billion cubic meters in 2007.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.87 billion cubic meters in 2019.
- How does Canada rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Canada ranks 23rd out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Canada 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 — 33 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.