Municipal water withdrawal in Nigeria
Nigeria: Municipal water withdrawal was 5.00 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
5.00 billion cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
22nd
of 183 countries
All-time high
5.00 billion cubic meters
in 2010
All-time low
1.12 billion cubic meters
in 1987
Years of data
37
1987–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Nigeria, 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
In 2023, municipal water withdrawal in Nigeria stood at 5.00 billion cubic meters. That is the highest value across all 37 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Nigeria peaked at 5.00 billion cubic meters in 2010 and was at its lowest, 1.12 billion cubic meters, in 1987.
That places Nigeria 22nd out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 37 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Nigeria, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 1.12 billion cubic meters | — |
| 1988 | 1.29 billion cubic meters | +14.5% |
| 1989 | 1.45 billion cubic meters | +12.6% |
| 1990 | 1.61 billion cubic meters | +11.2% |
| 1991 | 1.78 billion cubic meters | +10.1% |
| 1992 | 1.94 billion cubic meters | +9.2% |
| 1993 | 2.10 billion cubic meters | +8.4% |
| 1994 | 2.26 billion cubic meters | +7.7% |
| 1995 | 2.43 billion cubic meters | +7.2% |
| 1996 | 2.59 billion cubic meters | +6.7% |
| 1997 | 2.75 billion cubic meters | +6.3% |
| 1998 | 2.92 billion cubic meters | +5.9% |
| 1999 | 3.08 billion cubic meters | +5.6% |
| 2000 | 3.24 billion cubic meters | +5.3% |
| 2001 | 3.41 billion cubic meters | +5.3% |
| 2002 | 3.58 billion cubic meters | +5.0% |
| 2003 | 3.76 billion cubic meters | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 3.93 billion cubic meters | +4.6% |
| 2005 | 4.10 billion cubic meters | +4.4% |
| 2006 | 4.28 billion cubic meters | +4.4% |
| 2007 | 4.46 billion cubic meters | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 4.64 billion cubic meters | +4.0% |
| 2009 | 4.82 billion cubic meters | +3.9% |
| 2010 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5.00 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
Nigeria compared with similar countries
- Nigeria's 5.00 billion cubic meters is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 245.90 million cubic meters, 20.3× the median. (44 countries reporting)
- Nigeria's 5.00 billion cubic meters is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 144.05 million cubic meters, 34.7× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.29 billion cubic meters | 1.12 billion cubic meters | 1.45 billion cubic meters | 3 |
| 1990s | 2.35 billion cubic meters | 1.61 billion cubic meters | 3.08 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.02 billion cubic meters | 3.24 billion cubic meters | 4.82 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.00 billion cubic meters | 5.00 billion cubic meters | 5.00 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.00 billion cubic meters | 5.00 billion cubic meters | 5.00 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Nigeria
More environment data for Nigeria
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.73 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.07 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.281 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.15 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.1 % 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) 8.54 % 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 Nigeria?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Nigeria was 5.00 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 Nigeria?
- The highest recorded value was 5.00 billion cubic meters in 2010.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Nigeria?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.12 billion cubic meters in 1987.
- How does Nigeria rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Nigeria ranks 22nd out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Nigeria?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nigeria 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
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About this data
Water withdrawn each year for direct use by the population, usually measured as the total supplied by the public distribution network.