Which Country Consumes the Most of Freshwater?

Based on a comparison of 172 countries in 2021, India ranked the highest in freshwater withdrawals with 648 bil cbm followed by China and USA. On the other end of the scale was Maldives with 0.005 bil cbm, Monaco with 0.005 bil cbm and Comoros with 0.010 bil cbm.

Total freshwater withdrawals reached 3,949 bil cbm in 2021 in the World according to World Bank / EIA. This is 1.74 % less than in the previous year and % the same as 10 years ago.

Historically, total freshwater withdrawals reached an all time high of 3,949 bil cbm in 2021 and an all time low of 3,108 bil cbm in 1997. The average annual growth amounted to 1.87 % since 1965.

The top ranked country, India, accounted for 16.7 % of freshwater withdrawals in the world. The top 3 countries hold a 42.8 % share while the ten largest countries some 66.5 % in 2021.

Data for more countries are available at Freshwater Withdrawals (Total) indicator page.