FAO · Water-Use Efficiency
Water-use efficiency by country
How much economic value does a country create per cubic metre of water it withdraws?
Of the 168 countries compared in 2023, Luxembourg had the highest reading, 1,378.18, and Madagascar had the lowest reading, 0.38. In the middle country the figure was 16.10. Among the 105 countries measured in every edition since 2000, the middle one moved from 9.12 to 16.01.
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Water-use efficiency · 2023
Context statistic
Highest of 168Luxembourg
1,378.18012023 · values only
Who leads
The three countries at the highest end of 168 compared, the three at the other end, and the first on each continent.
1Photo: Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
2Photo: Khairul Nizam . · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
3Photo: Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 2.0 de, greyscale
Lowest in 2023
Madagascar0.38
Afghanistan0.61
Syria0.94
Where a country sits says how it compares with the others measured, and nothing about why.
Highest on each continent
- Africa
Angola132.91 - Americas
Antigua and Barbuda128.50 - Asia
Singapore1,013.46 - EuropeLuxembourg1,378.18
- Oceania
Australia81.843 of 21 measured
- Every region
02Every measured country
Water-use efficiency on a map
Each country is shaded by its value, in five groups holding the same number of countries. Hover a country for its value, or select it to open its profile. Below the map, each continent’s middle country.
Darker is a higher value — the better end.
- 0.38–5.19
- 5.30–11.79
- 11.83–28.24
- 28.53–76.49
- 77.53–1,378.18
- No reading in 2023
- Europe
64.21
the middle country, of 38 measured · 49 members
Luxembourg1,378.18
Montenegro1.76Highest and lowest reading in Europe.
- Americas
13.74
the middle country, of 30 measured · 48 members
Antigua and Barbuda128.50
Venezuela4.56Highest and lowest reading in Americas.
- Africa
12.97
the middle country, of 52 measured · 55 members
Angola132.91Madagascar0.38Highest and lowest reading in Africa.
- Asia
7.05
the middle country, of 45 measured · 52 members
Singapore1,013.46Afghanistan0.61Highest and lowest reading in Asia.
- Oceania
3 of 21 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand.
Australia81.84
New Zealand41.74Highest and lowest reading in Oceania.
- Every region
20 sub-regions, highest middle country first
- Northern Europe
156.88
the middle country, of 10 measured · 13 members
United Kingdom337.07
Estonia30.00Highest and lowest reading in Northern Europe.
- Western Europe
119.36
the middle country, of 7 measured · 9 members
Luxembourg1,378.18
Belgium96.03Highest and lowest reading in Western Europe.
- Middle Africa
47.80
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Angola132.91
São Tomé and Príncipe8.21Highest and lowest reading in Middle Africa.
- Caribbean
40.23
the middle country, of 8 measured · 24 members
Antigua and Barbuda128.50
Haiti7.55Highest and lowest reading in Caribbean.
- Southern Africa
34.91
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Botswana76.49
Eswatini3.89Highest and lowest reading in Southern Africa.
- Southern Europe
32.78
the middle country, of 11 measured · 17 members
Malta264.70Montenegro1.76Highest and lowest reading in Southern Europe.
- Western Asia
28.24
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Qatar196.12Syria0.94Highest and lowest reading in Western Asia.
- Eastern Asia
27.60
the middle country, of 5 measured · 8 members
South Korea63.91
North Korea1.65Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Asia.
- Eastern Europe
27.23
the middle country, of 10 measured · 10 members
Slovakia165.40
Moldova9.06Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Europe.
- Central America
16.59
the middle country, of 8 measured · 8 members
Panama59.33
Nicaragua9.04Highest and lowest reading in Central America.
- Western Africa
14.47
the middle country, of 16 measured · 16 members
Benin49.74
Mali2.43Highest and lowest reading in Western Africa.
- South America
11.71
the middle country, of 12 measured · 12 members
Brazil25.03Venezuela4.56Highest and lowest reading in South America.
- Eastern Africa
8.71
the middle country, of 17 measured · 19 members
Seychelles116.77Madagascar0.38Highest and lowest reading in Eastern Africa.
- Northern Africa
8.55
the middle country, of 6 measured · 6 members
Algeria17.07
Sudan2.35Highest and lowest reading in Northern Africa.
- South-eastern Asia
4.58
the middle country, of 10 measured · 11 members
Singapore1,013.46
Timor-Leste1.35Highest and lowest reading in South-eastern Asia.
- Southern Asia
4.50
the middle country, of 8 measured · 9 members
Bangladesh10.14Afghanistan0.61Highest and lowest reading in Southern Asia.
- Central Asia
2.77
the middle country, of 5 measured · 5 members
Kazakhstan8.63
Kyrgyzstan1.01Highest and lowest reading in Central Asia.
- Australia and New Zealand
2 of 2 measured — too few for a middle: Australia, New Zealand.
Australia81.84New Zealand41.74Highest and lowest reading in Australia and New Zealand.
- Melanesia
1 of 5 measured — too few for a middle: Fiji.
Fiji43.57Highest and lowest reading in Melanesia.
- Northern America
2 of 4 measured — too few for a middle: Canada, United States.
United States49.26
Canada45.43Highest and lowest reading in Northern America.
03The whole field at once
The spread
168 countries, one dot each, on one scale — further right is a higher value. Half the countries are above 16.10; a quarter are above 54.73, and a quarter below 7.00. The bar in each row marks that continent’s middle country.
Log scale: each gridline is ten times the one before, so countries of very different sizes can be seen on one line.
04All 168 ever measured
Every country
In order, highest value first. No rank or position is shown: too many countries share the same value for an order to mean anything. Between countries this mostly measures what an economy is made of: banking and services produce far more value per cubic metre than irrigated farming, so service economies lead whatever their water practices. The figures for agriculture, industry and services are in the download and compare like with like.
Showing 25 of 168 countries
Values for 2023. The change column compares 2023 with 2022 only; the sparkline covers the recent editions.
052000–2023 · 24 reference years
Over time
Each point is one year from 2000, as FAO's latest release calculates it. The figure is most meaningful within one country over time, as its economy and its water use change.
- the middle country
- the middle half of countries
- the middle of the 105 countries measured every time
- each continent’s middle country
The same, year by year
| Year | Countries | Middle country | Middle half | Measured every time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 168 | 16.10 | 7.00 – 54.73 | 16.01 |
| 2022 | 168 | 15.67 | 6.69 – 55.07 | 15.51 |
| 2021 | 168 | 16.43 | 6.64 – 50.36 | 16.37 |
| 2020 | 168 | 15.13 | 6.09 – 50.41 | 15.03 |
| 2019 | 168 | 15.90 | 6.55 – 49.97 | 15.38 |
| 2018 | 168 | 14.27 | 6.51 – 48.32 | 14.11 |
| 2017 | 168 | 14.27 | 6.33 – 46.46 | 13.92 |
| 2016 | 168 | 13.38 | 6.35 – 45.92 | 13.13 |
| 2015 | 167 | 15.24 | 6.11 – 45.04 | 13.81 |
| 2014 | 167 | 13.95 | 5.94 – 43.49 | 12.91 |
| 2013 | 166 | 13.59 | 5.69 – 40.92 | 12.72 |
| 2012 | 165 | 13.08 | 5.20 – 37.39 | 12.62 |
| 2011 | 159 | 12.87 | 5.06 – 37.31 | 11.88 |
| 2010 | 158 | 12.31 | 4.87 – 37.81 | 11.90 |
| 2009 | 154 | 11.84 | 4.68 – 37.28 | 11.63 |
| 2008 | 154 | 12.28 | 4.54 – 36.09 | 11.89 |
| 2007 | 151 | 12.65 | 4.56 – 35.99 | 12.29 |
| 2006 | 145 | 11.92 | 4.03 – 32.85 | 11.64 |
| 2005 | 138 | 11.59 | 3.85 – 32.56 | 10.56 |
| 2004 | 130 | 10.52 | 3.56 – 28.95 | 9.44 |
| 2003 | 128 | 10.16 | 3.37 – 28.67 | 9.07 |
| 2002 | 117 | 9.25 | 2.92 – 22.58 | 9.33 |
| 2001 | 111 | 9.51 | 2.94 – 21.61 | 9.51 |
| 2000 | 105 | 9.12 | 3.04 – 23.61 | 9.12 |
062022 → 2023
Who rose and fell
The biggest changes in value between the two newest editions — reference years recalculated in one report, not two separate publications. Places are shown second, because they also move when other countries do.
Improved most
before → after- Luxembourg1,362.56 → 1,378.18+15.62
Czechia135.49 → 149.71+14.22- Malta252.13 → 264.70+12.57
Netherlands98.42 → 110.84+12.42
Lithuania154.31 → 165.30+10.99
Declined most
before → after
Ireland290.56 → 233.71−56.85
Slovenia55.61 → 50.31−5.30
Norway146.67 → 142.24−4.43
Republic of the Congo109.41 → 105.21−4.20- United Kingdom340.99 → 337.07−3.92
168 countries were measured in both 2022 and 2023.
07Across every edition
Water-use efficiency in records
The extremes of the statistic. A record reached by more than one country names none of them.
Highest reading on record
1,394.86
Value added per cubic metre of freshwater withdrawn (constant US$ per m³)
Lowest reading on record
0.17
Value added per cubic metre of freshwater withdrawn (constant US$ per m³)
Biggest improvement between editions
+324.16
683.78 → 1,007.94
Biggest decline between editions
−150.74
1,273.64 → 1,122.90
Most improved since first measured
+940.11
73.35 → 1,013.46
At the top most often
22 of 24
editions, alone at the first-listed end
08The measure
About water-use efficiency
Water-use efficiency is SDG indicator 6.4.1: how many dollars of economic output a country produces for each cubic metre of fresh water it withdraws, across farming, industry and services. It is the efficiency half of the SDG water target, whose other half — water stress — measures how much of the available water is taken.
What the number is: Value added per cubic metre of freshwater withdrawn (constant US$ per m³).
09Where it fits
Connections
Its part in the Country Index, the statistics whose values line up most closely with it across countries, and others on the same subject.
In the Country Index
Context, with no vote
This statistic is published in full under Economy & Innovation and Environment & Sustainability, but does not help decide any Country Index standing.
Economy & InnovationEnvironment & SustainabilityWhich statistics vote, and why
Moves with
Where water-use efficiency is higher, these tend to be higher too.
- Research and Development SpendingUIS · 80 countries in commonρ 0.69
- Human Capital Wealth per CapitaWorld Bank Group · 145 countries in commonρ 0.67
- Comprehensive Wealth per CapitaWorld Bank Group · 144 countries in commonρ 0.66
Moves against
Where water-use efficiency is higher, these tend to be lower.
- Water Withdrawal by SectorFAO · 163 countries in commonρ −0.76
- Political Corruption IndexV-Dem Institute, University of Gothenburg · 165 countries in commonρ −0.62
- Riverine Flood Risk (Aqueduct)WRI · 156 countries in commonρ −0.60
Rank correlation (ρ, from −1 to 1) across countries, on each statistic’s newest edition, out of 377 statistics sharing at least 80 countries with this one. Two statistics that move together do not cause each other.
10Keep reading
Explore further
The countries at either end
11Questions
Water-use efficiency: questions and answers
Which country has the highest water-use efficiency?
Luxembourg, at 1,378.18, among the 168 countries compared in 2023.
Which country has the lowest water-use efficiency?
Madagascar, at 0.38, among the 168 countries compared in 2023.
How many countries does the Water-Use Efficiency cover?
168 in 2023. The number measured varies from 105 to 168 between editions.
What is the world average water-use efficiency?
This site does not calculate a world average, which would depend on how countries are weighted. In the middle country of the 168 compared in 2023, the figure was 16.10.
Is this Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s own ranking?
No ranking is shown. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything, so none is derived.
How often is the Water-Use Efficiency published?
This site holds 24 reference years, 2000–2023, all recalculated in Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s 2026 report on one method — not 24 separate publications.
Where does the data come from, and can I download it?
From Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under CC BY 4.0. FAOSTAT's SDG Indicators domain, read from FAO's own bulk download; FAO computes the indicator from AQUASTAT, its water database. Readings are published to two decimal places. Every edition is on this site’s Datasets pages as a full table, and downloads as a CSV file with every value unrounded.
12Method
Sources, method and citation
Source
Water-Use Efficiency — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
FAOSTAT's SDG Indicators domain, read from FAO's own bulk download; FAO computes the indicator from AQUASTAT, its water database. Readings are published to two decimal places.
Newest edition
Report year 2023Data year 2023
Cite the source as: FAO. 2026. FAOSTAT: SDG Indicators (SDG indicator 6.4.1, computed from AQUASTAT). Accessed on 3 October 2026. https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/SDGB Licence: CC-BY-4.0.
Licence: CC BY 4.0, checked 2026-10-03.
How this page reads the numbers
- No rank or position is shown: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) publishes values only, and too many countries share the same value for an ordering to mean anything.
- Which end is better follows the publisher’s own reading of the measure.
- A country is named at an end only when it holds that value alone. Where several share it, the page says how many and names none first.
- Values are stored exactly as published and trimmed only for display. “The middle country” is the median of the countries measured, not a world average.
The file itself, column by column — where it came from, what each column holds, and every edition as a CSV — is on its dataset page.
Photographs
The countries at the top of this statistic, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Luxembourg — Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Singapore — Khairul Nizam ., CC BY 2.0
- Switzerland — Simon Koopmann derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 2.0 de
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Water-use efficiency by country: Water-Use Efficiency, data from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). https://nationsinquiry.com/statistics/water-use-efficiency