Municipal water withdrawal in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka: Municipal water withdrawal was 805.00 million cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
805.00 million cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
63rd
of 183 countries
All-time high
805.00 million cubic meters
in 2005
All-time low
195.00 million cubic meters
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Municipal water withdrawal in Sri Lanka, 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 Sri Lanka stood at 805.00 million cubic meters. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal water withdrawal in Sri Lanka peaked at 805.00 million cubic meters in 2005 and was at its lowest, 195.00 million cubic meters, in 1990.
That places Sri Lanka 63rd out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Municipal water withdrawal in Sri Lanka, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 195.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1991 | 225.20 million cubic meters | +15.5% |
| 1992 | 255.40 million cubic meters | +13.4% |
| 1993 | 285.60 million cubic meters | +11.8% |
| 1994 | 315.80 million cubic meters | +10.6% |
| 1995 | 346.00 million cubic meters | +9.6% |
| 1996 | 376.20 million cubic meters | +8.7% |
| 1997 | 406.40 million cubic meters | +8.0% |
| 1998 | 436.60 million cubic meters | +7.4% |
| 1999 | 466.80 million cubic meters | +6.9% |
| 2000 | 497.00 million cubic meters | +6.5% |
| 2001 | 558.60 million cubic meters | +12.4% |
| 2002 | 620.20 million cubic meters | +11.0% |
| 2003 | 681.80 million cubic meters | +9.9% |
| 2004 | 743.40 million cubic meters | +9.0% |
| 2005 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +8.3% |
| 2006 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 805.00 million cubic meters | +0.0% |
Sri Lanka compared with similar countries
- Sri Lanka's 805.00 million cubic meters is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 542.00 million cubic meters, 1.5× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Sri Lanka's 805.00 million cubic meters is above the median for South Asia, which is 476.30 million cubic meters, 1.7× the median. (6 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 330.90 million cubic meters | 195.00 million cubic meters | 466.80 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2000s | 712.60 million cubic meters | 497.00 million cubic meters | 805.00 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 805.00 million cubic meters | 805.00 million cubic meters | 805.00 million cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 805.00 million cubic meters | 805.00 million cubic meters | 805.00 million cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Sri Lanka
More environment data for Sri Lanka
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 5.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 5.49 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.207 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 0.849 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 5.63 % 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 1.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal water withdrawal in Sri Lanka?
- Municipal water withdrawal in Sri Lanka was 805.00 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 Sri Lanka?
- The highest recorded value was 805.00 million cubic meters in 2005.
- What is the lowest municipal water withdrawal recorded in Sri Lanka?
- The lowest recorded value was 195.00 million cubic meters in 1990.
- How does Sri Lanka rank for municipal water withdrawal?
- Sri Lanka ranks 63rd out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal water withdrawal rising or falling in Sri Lanka?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sri Lanka 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.