Municipal water withdrawal in South Africa
South Africa: Municipal water withdrawal was 4.23 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
4.23 billion cubic meters
Change on year
up 15.8%
World rank
26th
of 183 countries
All-time high
4.23 billion cubic meters
in 2023
All-time low
2.28 billion cubic meters
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in South Africa, 1990–2023
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 South Africa stood at 4.23 billion cubic meters. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 15.8% on the previous year and up 1.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in South Africa peaked at 4.23 billion cubic meters in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.28 billion cubic meters, in 1990.
That places South Africa 26th out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in South Africa, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.28 billion cubic meters | — |
| 1991 | 2.44 billion cubic meters | +7.1% |
| 1992 | 2.61 billion cubic meters | +6.6% |
| 1993 | 2.77 billion cubic meters | +6.2% |
| 1994 | 2.93 billion cubic meters | +5.9% |
| 1995 | 3.09 billion cubic meters | +5.5% |
| 1996 | 3.25 billion cubic meters | +5.3% |
| 1997 | 3.42 billion cubic meters | +5.0% |
| 1998 | 3.58 billion cubic meters | +4.8% |
| 1999 | 3.74 billion cubic meters | +4.5% |
| 2000 | 3.90 billion cubic meters | +4.3% |
| 2001 | 3.93 billion cubic meters | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 3.95 billion cubic meters | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 3.97 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 3.99 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 4.01 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 4.03 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 4.06 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 4.08 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 4.10 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 4.12 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 4.14 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 4.16 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 4.18 billion cubic meters | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 3.96 billion cubic meters | -5.4% |
| 2015 | 3.73 billion cubic meters | -5.7% |
| 2016 | 3.78 billion cubic meters | +1.3% |
| 2017 | 3.89 billion cubic meters | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 3.00 billion cubic meters | -23.0% |
| 2019 | 3.15 billion cubic meters | +5.1% |
| 2020 | 3.11 billion cubic meters | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 3.27 billion cubic meters | +5.3% |
| 2022 | 3.65 billion cubic meters | +11.6% |
| 2023 | 4.23 billion cubic meters | +15.8% |
South Africa compared with similar countries
- South Africa's 4.23 billion cubic meters is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 542.00 million cubic meters, 7.8× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- South Africa's 4.23 billion cubic meters is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 144.05 million cubic meters, 29.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.01 billion cubic meters | 2.28 billion cubic meters | 3.74 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.00 billion cubic meters | 3.90 billion cubic meters | 4.10 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.81 billion cubic meters | 3.00 billion cubic meters | 4.18 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.57 billion cubic meters | 3.11 billion cubic meters | 4.23 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near South Africa
- 23 Canada 4.87 billion cubic meters compare
- 24 Spain 4.56 billion cubic meters compare
- 25 Kazakhstan 4.23 billion cubic meters compare
- 27 Bangladesh 3.60 billion cubic meters compare
- 28 Colombia 3.56 billion cubic meters compare
- 29 Saudi Arabia 3.39 billion cubic meters compare
More environment data for South Africa
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.46 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 8.52 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.275 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.05 °C (2025)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.4366 % 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) 1.85 % 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 South Africa?
- Municipal water withdrawal in South Africa was 4.23 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 South Africa?
- The highest recorded value was 4.23 billion cubic meters in 2023.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in South Africa?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.28 billion cubic meters in 1990.
- How does South Africa rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- South Africa ranks 26th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in South Africa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Africa 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 — 34 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.