Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia
Australia: Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals was 66.9% in 2022. ▼ Falling
Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia, 1993–2022
Source: AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total freshwater withdrawal.
Analysis
The most recent figure for agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia is 66.9%, measured in 2022.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 11.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia peaked at 70.7% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 52.0%, in 2009.
That places Australia 80th out of 180 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 30 years of available data.
Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia, year by year
| Year | % of total freshwater withdrawal | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 65.4% | — |
| 1994 | 69.5% | +6.2% |
| 1995 | 67.0% | -3.7% |
| 1996 | 69.9% | +4.3% |
| 1997 | 69.7% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 69.6% | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 69.5% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 69.4% | -0.2% |
| 2001 | 69.3% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 68.4% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 67.4% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 66.4% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 65.2% | -1.7% |
| 2006 | 62.6% | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 59.6% | -4.8% |
| 2008 | 56.1% | -5.9% |
| 2009 | 52.0% | -7.3% |
| 2010 | 53.8% | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 55.1% | +2.4% |
| 2012 | 59.8% | +8.6% |
| 2013 | 65.7% | +9.7% |
| 2014 | 63.4% | -3.5% |
| 2015 | 54.2% | -14.4% |
| 2016 | 65.5% | +20.8% |
| 2017 | 69.4% | +5.9% |
| 2018 | 70.7% | +1.8% |
| 2019 | 66.6% | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 62.3% | -6.5% |
| 2021 | 66.1% | +6.1% |
| 2022 | 66.9% | +1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 68.7% | 65.4% | 69.9% | 7 |
| 2000s | 63.6% | 52.0% | 69.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 62.4% | 53.8% | 70.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 65.1% | 62.3% | 66.9% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More agriculture & rural data for Australia
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 13.97 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0227 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 1,476 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 0.5855 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.1228 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 2.3% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 2.3% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 1.7% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.5% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia?
- Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals in Australia was 66.9% in 2022, according to AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 70.7% in 2018.
- What is the lowest agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 52.0% in 2009.
- How does Australia rank for agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals?
- Australia ranks 80th out of 180 countries with data for 2022.
- Is agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, FAO, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural water as a share of total water withdrawals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Agricultural water withdrawals as a percentage of total water withdrawals (which is the sum of water used for agriculture, industry and domestic purposes). Agricultural water is defined as the annual quantity of self-supplied water withdrawn for irrigation, livestock and aquaculture purposes.