ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS
   
     
 
   
 

Inland Water Resources
 
 
last update: March 2011
 
 

Water resources: long term annual average

     
   


Precipitation




Internal flow

Inflow of
surface and
ground waters

Renewable
freshwater
resources

Renewable
freshwater
resources
per capita

  
 
mio m3
mio m3
mio m3
mio m3
m3
  
Afghanistan
213 429
55 000
10 000
65 000
2 389
Albania
42 700
26 900
14 800
41 700
13 266
Algeria
211 499
13 900
420
14 320
417
Andorra*
466
1
263
0
263
3 116
Angola
1 258 793
184 000
0
184 000
10 210
Antigua and Barbuda
500
52
0
52
600
Argentina
1 642 104
276 000
538 000
814 000
20 410
Armenia*
17 640
6 317
940
7 257
2 358
Australia*
3 630 635
387 184
0
387 184
18 372
Austria*
98 000
55 000
29 000
84 000
10 075
Azerbaijan*
36 978
10 330
20 573
30 903
3 540
Bahamas
17 934
20
0
20
59
Bahrain*
71
-9
0
-9
-12
Bangladesh
383 832
105 000
1 105 644
1 210 644
7 567
Barbados
600
80
0
80
315
Belarus*
136 186
52 938
23 200
2
76 138
7 866
Belgium*
28 887
12 327
7 606
19 933
1 882
Belize
39 100
16 000
2 555
18 555
61 717
Benin
117 046
10 300
14 500
24 800
2 863
Bermuda*
76
72
0
72
1 119
Bhutan*
...
...
...
73 000
106 292
Bolivia
1 258 863
303 531
319 000
622 531
64 217
Bosnia and Herzegovina
52 562
35 500
2 000
37 500
9 939
Botswana
241 825
2 900
11 500
14 400
7 496
Brazil*
15 333 391
5 657 230
2 768 672
8 425 901
43 891
Brunei Darussalam
15 706
8 500
0
8 500
21 668
Bulgaria*
68 598
18 085
89 141
107 226
14 123
Burkina Faso
204 925
12 500
0
12 500
821
Burundi
33 903
3 600
0
3 600
446
Cambodia
344 628
120 570
355 540
476 110
32 695
Cameroon
762 463
273 000
12 500
285 500
14 957
Canada*
4 930 000
2 740 000
51 500
2 791 500
83 931
Cape Verde
900
300
0
300
602
Central African Republic
836 662
141 000
3 400
144 400
33 278
Chad
413 191
15 000
28 000
43 000
3 940
Chile
1 151 600
884 000
38 000
922 000
54 868
China*
6 172 800
2 840 500
21 400
2 861 900
2 140
China, Hong Kong SAR*
2 616
1 489
0
1 489
213
Colombia
2 974 605
2 112 000
20 000
2 132 000
47 365
Comoros
2 000
1 200
0
1 200
1 816
Congo
562 932
222 000
610 000
832 000
230 142
Costa Rica
149 529
112 400
0
112 400
24 872
Cote d'Ivoire
434 676
76 700
4 300
81 000
3 934
Croatia
62 912
37 700
67 800
105 500
23 855
Cuba
147 965
38 120
0
38 120
3 402
Cyprus*
3 046
323
0
323
375
Czech Republic*
54 653
15 237
740
15 977
1 548
Dem. Rep. of the Congo
3 618 119
900 000
383 000
1 283 000
19 967
Denmark*
38 485
16 340
0
3
16 340
2 994
Djibouti
5 100
300
0
300
353
Dominican Republic
68 690
20 995
0
20 995
2 109
Ecuador*
521 779
283 980
0
283 980
21 065
Egypt
51 400
1 800
85 000
86 800
1 065
El Salvador*
56 052
23 212
635
23 847
3 888
Equatorial Guinea
60 481
26 000
0
26 000
39 442
Eritrea
45 147
2 800
3 500
6 300
1 279
Estonia*
29 018
…
…
12 347
9 205
Ethiopia
936 005
110 000
0
110 000
1 363
Fiji
47 356
28 550
0
28 550
33 825
Finland*
222 000
107 000
3 200
110 000
20 737
France*
485 686
175 293
11 000
186 293
3 003
French Guiana
260 550
134 000
0
134 000
608 817
Gabon
489 997
164 000
0
164 000
113 247
Gambia*
8 555
-3 046
4
5 884
2 838
1 709
Georgia*
83 141
46 845
6 931
5
53 776
12 486
Germany*
307 000
117 000
75 000
188 000
2 285
Ghana
283 195
30 300
22 900
53 200
2 278
Greece*
115 000
60 000
12 000
72 000
6 465
Greenland
759 000
603 000
0
603 000
10 522 275
Guatemala
217 300
109 200
2 070
111 270
8 130
Guinea
405 939
226 000
0
226 000
22 984
Guinea-Bissau
56 972
16 000
15 000
31 000
19 677
Guyana
513 112
241 000
0
241 000
315 678
Haiti
39 966
13 010
1 015
14 025
1 420
Honduras
221 434
95 929
0
95 929
13 107
Hungary*
55 707
7 533
108 897
116 430
11 629
Iceland*
200 000
170 000
...
170 000
538 878
India*
4 000 000
...
...
1 869 000
6
1 582
6
Indonesia
5 146 529
2 838 000
0
2 838 000
12 483
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
375 790
128 500
9 010
137 510
1 876
Iraq
94 677
35 200
61 220
96 420
3 204
Ireland*
80 000
47 500
…
47 500
10 706
Israel
9 157
750
920
1 670
237
Italy*
296 000
167 000
8 000
175 000
2 936
Jamaica
22 542
9 404
0
9 404
3 473
Japan*
649 071
423 571
0
423 571
3 328
Jordan
9 929
680
200
880
143
Kazakhstan
680 408
75 420
34 190
109 610
7 062
Kenya
401 906
20 200
10 000
30 200
779
Korea, Dem. People's Rep.
127 000
67 000
10 135
77 135
3 238
Korea, Republic of*
124 000
72 300
0
72 300
1 501
Kuwait
2 160
0
20
20
7
Kyrgyzstan*
...
33 248
...
33 248
6 142
Lao People's Dem. Rep.
434 362
190 420
143 130
333 550
53 752
Latvia*
42 701
16 901
16 830
33 731
14 933
Lebanon
6 900
4 800
37
4 837
1 153
Lesotho
23 928
5 230
0
5 230
2 552
Liberia
266 286
200 000
32 000
232 000
61 159
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
98 500
600
0
600
95
Lithuania*
44 010
15 510
8 990
24 500
7 377
Luxembourg*
2 030
905
739
1 644
3 421
Madagascar
888 192
337 000
0
337 000
17 634
Malawi
139 960
16 140
1 140
17 280
1 164
Malaysia
948 163
580 000
0
580 000
21 470
Maldives
592
30
0
30
98
Mali*
415 000
...
...
137 000
10 783
Malta*
150
78
0
78
191
Mauritania
94 656
400
11 000
11 400
3 546
Mauritius*
3 700
2 590
0
2 590
2 024
Mexico*
1 515 478
422 882
49 700
472 582
4 353
Mongolia
377 370
34 800
0
34 800
13 176
Morocco*
150 000
29 000
0
29 000
918
Mozambique
827 200
99 000
117 110
216 110
9 655
Myanmar*
...
107 400
17 900
125 300
2 528
Namibia
235 252
6 160
39 300
45 460
21 344
Nepal
220 800
198 200
12 000
210 200
7 296
Netherlands*
29 770
8 480
81 200
89 680
5 426
New Zealand*
537 000
327 000
0
327 000
77 305
Nicaragua
310 856
189 740
6 950
196 690
34 706
Niger
190 810
3 500
30 150
33 650
2 288
Nigeria
1 062 336
221 000
65 200
286 200
1 893
Norway*
470 671
371 824
12 191
384 015
80 564
Occupied Palestinian Territory
120
46
10
56
14
Oman
26 600
985
0
985
354
Pakistan
393 300
52 400
181 370
233 770
1 321
Panama
203 300
147 420
560
147 980
43 539
Papua New Guinea
1 454 104
801 000
0
801 000
121 791
Paraguay
459 546
94 000
242 000
336 000
53 865
Peru
2 233 700
1 616 000
297 000
1 913 000
66 339
Philippines*
648 420
202 819
...
202 819
2 245
Poland*
193 100
54 800
8 300
63 100
1 656
Portugal*
82 164
38 593
35 000
73 593
6 893
Puerto Rico
18 383
7 100
0
7 100
1 791
Qatar*
122
92
...
92
72
Republic of Moldova*
17 948
782
10 260
11 042
3 039
Réunion
7 500
5 000
0
5 000
6 123
Romania*
154 000
39 415
2 878
42 293
1 980
Russian Federation
7 854 684
4 312 700
194 550
4 507 250
31 877
Rwanda
31 932
5 200
0
5 200
535
Saint Kitts and Nevis
500
24
0
24
462
Sao Tome and Principe
3 100
2 180
0
2 180
13 610
Saudi Arabia
126 800
2 400
0
2 400
95
Senegal
135 048
26 400
13 000
39 400
3 227
Serbia*
56 115
7
12 776
7
162 600
7
175 376
7
17 824
7
Sierra Leone
181 215
160 000
0
160 000
28 778
Singapore*
1 770
8
890
8
0
8
890
8
193
8
Slovakia*
37 352
13 074
67 252
80 326
14 876
Slovenia*
31 746
18 596
13 496
32 092
15 926
Solomon Islands
87 509
44 700
0
44 700
87 532
Somalia
180 075
6 000
7 500
13 500
1 512
South Africa*
524 600
...
7 273
9
31 738
639
Spain*
346 527
111 133
0
3
111 133
2 498
Sri Lanka
112 337
50 000
0
50 000
2 492
Sudan
1 043 670
30 000
119 000
149 000
3 604
Suriname
380 582
88 000
34 000
122 000
236 836
Swaziland
13 678
2 640
1 870
4 510
3 862
Sweden*
337 538
172 505
13 663
186 168
20 226
Switzerland*
61 594
40 714
12 798
53 512
7 096
Syrian Arab Republic
46 700
7 000
39 080
46 080
2 171
Tajikistan
98 900
66 300
33 430
99 730
14 589
Thailand
832 435
210 000
199 944
409 944
6 083
The Former Yugoslav Rep. of Macedonia*
19 533
3 558
1 014
10
4 572
10
2 240
10
Togo*
72 336
15 000
3 000
18 000
2 787
Trinidad and Tobago
11 300
3 840
0
3 840
2 880
Tunisia*
36 000
4 170
...
4 170
11
410
11
Turkey*
501 000
227 400
6 900
234 300
3 170
Turkmenistan
78 731
1 360
59 500
60 860
12 067
Uganda
284 500
39 000
27 000
66 000
2 085
Ukraine
340 970
53 100
86 450
139 550
3 034
United Arab Emirates
6 529
150
0
150
33
United Kingdom*
275 029
157 875
6 405
164 280
2 683
United Rep. of Tanzania
1 012 191
82 000
9 000
91 000
2 142
United States*
6 440 000
2 460 000
18 000
2 478 000
7 951
Uruguay
222 865
59 000
80 000
139 000
41 501
Uzbekistan
92 299
16 340
55 870
72 210
2 656
Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)*
1 406 154
12
576 927
12,13
444 732
14
1 011 399
35 966
Viet Nam
604 008
366 500
524 710
891 210
10 233
Yemen
88 329
4 100
0
4 100
179
Zambia
767 436
80 200
25 000
105 200
8 336
Zimbabwe
270 523
14 100
5 900
20 000
1 605

Sources:

UNSD/UNEP Questionnaires on Environment Statistics, Water section; Eurostat environment statistics main tables and database (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/environment/introduction); and OECD Environmental Data Compendium, Inland Waters section, marked with " * ".

AQUASTAT database of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO); http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/water_res/index.stm. Whenever data were not available for the "Total renewable fresh water resources" variable from the UNSD or OECD/Eurostat Questionnaire, AQUASTAT data were used.

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects: The 2008 Revision, New York, 2009 (advanced Excel tables).

Footnotes:

  1. Data refer to average of 3 meteorological stations.
  2. Data only includes surface water. Groundwater is excluded.
  3. Estimated value.
  4. The number is negative because evapotranspiration covers both water from precipitation and external inflow of water. Whereas precipitation covers water from rain that fall within the National territory.
  5. Data refer to the sum of inflows from Armenia and Turkey.
  6. Estimated availability (potential) from freshwater resources.
  7. Data refer to the Republic of Serbia without the territory of Kosovo Province.
  8. Data refer to years 1990-2005.
  9. Data refer to inflows from Lesotho and Swaziland.
  10. Excluding inflow of groundwaters.
  11. Renewable freshwater resources = internal flow, and inflow of surface and groundwaters is not included.
  12. The long-term annual average for precipitation, evapotranspiration and internal flow is based on a period of 13 years.
  13. The figures for internal flow include usable groundwater reservoirs, estimated at 22312 million m3.
  14. As annual figures for the inflow of surface and groundwaters are not available, the long-term annual average flow of surface waters from Colombia has been used.


Definitions & Technical notes:

Long term annual average is the arithmetic average over at least 20 years.

Precipitation refers to the total volume of atmospheric wet deposition (rain, snow, hail, dew, etc) falling on the territory of the country over one year, in millions of cubic metres.

Internal flow is the total volume of river run-off and ground water generated in natural conditions, exclusively by precipitation within the country. The internal flow is equal to precipitation less actual evapotranspiration and can be calculated or measured.

Renewable fresh water resources = Internal flow + Inflow of surface and groundwaters

Renewable fresh water resources per capita is calculated by UNSD by dividing the total renewable fresh water resources by the total population of the country.

 

Data Quality:

Countrywide precipitation is usually calculated on the basis of measurements at a selected number of measuring stations within the country. Data are considered to be fairly reliable.
Internal flow is the fresh water generated in the country and is usually calculated by subtracting natural evapotranspiration from precipitation. The reliability of the data depends essentially on the estimation method for evapotranspiration.
For most countries, inflow of surface and ground water contains only the surface water flow, since ground water flows are often not well known. Surface water flows of inflowing rivers should be measured at the border. Dry countries in particular, tend to have reliable data.

 
United Nations Statistics Division - Environment Statistics