Municipal water withdrawal in Iceland
Iceland: Municipal water withdrawal was 80.00 million cubic meters in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
80.00 million cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
148th
of 183 countries
All-time high
146.12 million cubic meters
in 1990
All-time low
76.00 million cubic meters
in 2014
Years of data
44
1980–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Iceland, 1980–2023
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 Iceland is 80.00 million cubic meters, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Iceland peaked at 146.12 million cubic meters in 1990 and was at its lowest, 76.00 million cubic meters, in 2014.
That places Iceland 148th out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Iceland, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 94.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1981 | 94.80 million cubic meters | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 95.60 million cubic meters | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 96.40 million cubic meters | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 97.20 million cubic meters | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 98.00 million cubic meters | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 107.62 million cubic meters | +9.8% |
| 1987 | 117.25 million cubic meters | +8.9% |
| 1988 | 126.88 million cubic meters | +8.2% |
| 1989 | 136.50 million cubic meters | +7.6% |
| 1990 | 146.12 million cubic meters | +7.1% |
| 1991 | 116.56 million cubic meters | -20.2% |
| 1992 | 87.00 million cubic meters | -25.4% |
| 1993 | 86.00 million cubic meters | -1.1% |
| 1994 | 85.00 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 84.00 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 83.00 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 1997 | 82.00 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 81.00 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 1999 | 80.00 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2000 | 79.00 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 81.00 million cubic meters | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 81.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 81.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 82.17 million cubic meters | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 83.33 million cubic meters | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 84.50 million cubic meters | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 85.67 million cubic meters | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 86.83 million cubic meters | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 88.00 million cubic meters | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 93.00 million cubic meters | +5.7% |
| 2012 | 94.00 million cubic meters | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 86.00 million cubic meters | -8.5% |
| 2014 | 76.00 million cubic meters | -11.6% |
| 2015 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +5.3% |
| 2016 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 80.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
Iceland compared with similar countries
- Iceland's 80.00 million cubic meters is below the median for high income countries, which is 699.00 million cubic meters, 11% of the median. (61 countries reporting)
- Iceland's 80.00 million cubic meters is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 657.50 million cubic meters, 12% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Municipal water withdrawal in Iceland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | -25.4% | 116.56 million cubic meters | 87.00 million cubic meters |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 106.42 million cubic meters | 94.00 million cubic meters | 136.50 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 1990s | 93.07 million cubic meters | 80.00 million cubic meters | 146.12 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.45 million cubic meters | 79.00 million cubic meters | 86.83 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.70 million cubic meters | 76.00 million cubic meters | 94.00 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.00 million cubic meters | 80.00 million cubic meters | 80.00 million cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iceland
More environment data for Iceland
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 3.89 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.587 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.47 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.8549 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -1.93 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water withdrawal in Iceland?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Iceland was 80.00 million 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 Iceland?
- The highest recorded value was 146.12 million cubic meters in 1990.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Iceland?
- The lowest recorded value was 76.00 million cubic meters in 2014.
- How does Iceland rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Iceland ranks 148th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Iceland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iceland 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 — 44 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.