Municipal water withdrawal in New Zealand
New Zealand: Municipal water withdrawal was 576.00 million cubic meters in 2023. ▼ Falling
Municipal water withdrawal in New Zealand, 1985–2023
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 New Zealand is 576.00 million cubic meters, measured in 2023.
The figure is up 5.3% on the previous year and down 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in New Zealand peaked at 1.44 billion cubic meters in 1999 and was at its lowest, 447.04 million cubic meters, in 2016.
That places New Zealand 77th out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 39 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in New Zealand, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 874.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1986 | 914.74 million cubic meters | +4.7% |
| 1987 | 955.49 million cubic meters | +4.5% |
| 1988 | 996.23 million cubic meters | +4.3% |
| 1989 | 1.04 billion cubic meters | +4.1% |
| 1990 | 1.08 billion cubic meters | +3.9% |
| 1991 | 1.12 billion cubic meters | +3.8% |
| 1992 | 1.16 billion cubic meters | +3.6% |
| 1993 | 1.20 billion cubic meters | +3.5% |
| 1994 | 1.24 billion cubic meters | +3.4% |
| 1995 | 1.28 billion cubic meters | +3.3% |
| 1996 | 1.32 billion cubic meters | +3.2% |
| 1997 | 1.36 billion cubic meters | +3.1% |
| 1998 | 1.40 billion cubic meters | +3.0% |
| 1999 | 1.44 billion cubic meters | +2.9% |
| 2000 | 620.00 million cubic meters | -57.1% |
| 2001 | 708.17 million cubic meters | +14.2% |
| 2002 | 796.33 million cubic meters | +12.4% |
| 2003 | 884.50 million cubic meters | +11.1% |
| 2004 | 972.67 million cubic meters | +10.0% |
| 2005 | 1.06 billion cubic meters | +9.1% |
| 2006 | 1.15 billion cubic meters | +8.3% |
| 2007 | 1.06 billion cubic meters | -7.4% |
| 2008 | 979.50 million cubic meters | -8.0% |
| 2009 | 894.75 million cubic meters | -8.7% |
| 2010 | 810.00 million cubic meters | -9.5% |
| 2011 | 749.51 million cubic meters | -7.5% |
| 2012 | 689.01 million cubic meters | -8.1% |
| 2013 | 628.52 million cubic meters | -8.8% |
| 2014 | 568.03 million cubic meters | -9.6% |
| 2015 | 507.54 million cubic meters | -10.6% |
| 2016 | 447.04 million cubic meters | -11.9% |
| 2017 | 460.86 million cubic meters | +3.1% |
| 2018 | 487.87 million cubic meters | +5.9% |
| 2019 | 498.63 million cubic meters | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 560.00 million cubic meters | +12.3% |
| 2021 | 553.50 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2022 | 547.00 million cubic meters | -1.2% |
| 2023 | 576.00 million cubic meters | +5.3% |
New Zealand compared with similar countries
- New Zealand's 576.00 million cubic meters is below the median for high income countries, which is 699.00 million cubic meters, 82% of the median. (61 countries reporting)
- New Zealand's 576.00 million cubic meters is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.04 billion cubic meters, 55% of the median. (20 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Municipal water withdrawal in New Zealand 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | -57.1% | 1.44 billion cubic meters | 620.00 million cubic meters |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 955.49 million cubic meters | 874.00 million cubic meters | 1.04 billion cubic meters | 5 |
| 1990s | 1.26 billion cubic meters | 1.08 billion cubic meters | 1.44 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 913.00 million cubic meters | 620.00 million cubic meters | 1.15 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 584.70 million cubic meters | 447.04 million cubic meters | 810.00 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 559.12 million cubic meters | 547.00 million cubic meters | 576.00 million cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near New Zealand
More environment data for New Zealand
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.2131 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 1.69 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.379 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.9845 % 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) -4.19 % 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 New Zealand?
- Municipal water withdrawal in New Zealand was 576.00 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 New Zealand?
- The highest recorded value was 1.44 billion cubic meters in 1999.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in New Zealand?
- The lowest recorded value was 447.04 million cubic meters in 2016.
- How does New Zealand rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- New Zealand ranks 77th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in New Zealand?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this New Zealand 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 — 39 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.