HomeComparisonsAgriculture's water share vs GDP
Comparison · Agriculture's water share vs GDP

Rich countries don't spend their water on farming

Agriculture's share of national water withdrawal against income. The slope is steep and downward: in poor countries farming swallows almost all the water, while rich ones spend a far larger fraction on industry and cities. It isn't that wealthy countries irrigate less in absolute terms — it's that everything else they do with water grows faster than farming does.

Correlation · r
-0.445
moderate relationship
Countries
175
with both measures
X axis
GDP per capita
vs Agricultural share of water withdrawal
Each point is one country · named points highlighted
0204060801001k10k100kPakistanIndiaEgypt, Arab Rep.United StatesGermanyNetherlands GDP per capita (US$, log) Agricultural share of water withdrawal (%)

Each point is one country: how much of its water goes to farming against how rich it is. The poorest countries cluster near 100%; the richest fall toward a fifth or less. · explore live in the console →

GDP per capita (US$) and Agricultural share of water withdrawal (%), by country
CountryRegionGDP per capitaAgricultural share of water withdrawal
Somalia, Fed. Rep. Sub-Saharan Africa $630 99.5
Afghanistan Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $414 98.2
Nepal South Asia $1,447 98.1
Mali Sub-Saharan Africa $1,095 97.9
Sudan Sub-Saharan Africa $985 96.2
Lao PDR East Asia & Pacific $2,124 95.9
Madagascar Sub-Saharan Africa $545 95.9
Viet Nam East Asia & Pacific $4,717 94.8
Guyana Latin America & Caribbean $29,675 94.3
Eswatini Sub-Saharan Africa $3,910 94.2
Bhutan South Asia $3,831 94.1
Cambodia East Asia & Pacific $2,628 94.0
Pakistan Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $1,479 94.0
Turkmenistan Europe & Central Asia $6,857 92.7
Kyrgyz Republic Europe & Central Asia $2,420 92.7
Azerbaijan Europe & Central Asia $7,284 92.2
Iran, Islamic Rep. Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $5,190 92.2
Uzbekistan Europe & Central Asia $3,162 92.1
Ethiopia Sub-Saharan Africa $1,134 91.8
Timor-Leste East Asia & Pacific $1,332 91.4
Senegal Sub-Saharan Africa $1,773 91.3
Niger Sub-Saharan Africa $735 91.0
Chile Latin America & Caribbean $16,710 90.9
Yemen, Rep. Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $634 90.7
Mauritania Sub-Saharan Africa $2,110 90.6
India South Asia $2,695 90.4
Thailand East Asia & Pacific $7,347 90.4
Tanzania Sub-Saharan Africa $1,187 89.4
Myanmar East Asia & Pacific $1,359 88.6
Bangladesh South Asia $2,593 87.8
Morocco Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $4,153 87.8
Syrian Arab Republic Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $1,052 87.5
Sri Lanka South Asia $4,516 87.4
Zimbabwe Sub-Saharan Africa $2,497 87.2
Bolivia Latin America & Caribbean $4,421 87.1
Turkiye Europe & Central Asia $15,893 86.9
Malawi Sub-Saharan Africa $523 85.9
Indonesia East Asia & Pacific $4,925 85.2
Nicaragua Latin America & Caribbean $2,848 85.0
Haiti Latin America & Caribbean $2,143 83.4
Dominican Republic Latin America & Caribbean $10,876 83.3
Libya Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $6,569 83.2
Colombia Latin America & Caribbean $7,919 82.2
Saudi Arabia Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $35,122 81.6
Peru Latin America & Caribbean $8,452 81.5
Ecuador Latin America & Caribbean $6,875 81.4
Oman Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $20,285 80.8
Greece Europe & Central Asia $24,626 80.5
Kenya Sub-Saharan Africa $2,132 80.2
Burundi Sub-Saharan Africa $219 79.3
Egypt, Arab Rep. Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $3,338 79.2
Paraguay Latin America & Caribbean $6,416 78.6
Armenia Europe & Central Asia $8,556 77.5
Uruguay Latin America & Caribbean $23,907 77.2
Chad Sub-Saharan Africa $962 76.4
Mexico Latin America & Caribbean $14,186 76.3
Guinea-Bissau Sub-Saharan Africa $1,008 75.8
Tunisia Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $4,181 75.5
Philippines East Asia & Pacific $3,985 74.6
Tajikistan Europe & Central Asia $1,341 74.5
Argentina Latin America & Caribbean $13,970 73.9
Venezuela, RB Latin America & Caribbean $4,218 73.9
Iraq Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $6,074 73.5
Honduras Latin America & Caribbean $3,426 73.3
Zambia Sub-Saharan Africa $1,187 73.3
Ghana Sub-Saharan Africa $2,391 73.1
Mozambique Sub-Saharan Africa $657 73.0
El Salvador Latin America & Caribbean $5,580 72.8
Namibia Sub-Saharan Africa $4,413 71.5
Albania Europe & Central Asia $11,378 70.9
St. Lucia Latin America & Caribbean $14,182 70.9
Suriname Latin America & Caribbean $6,962 70.0
Belize Latin America & Caribbean $7,681 67.7
Cameroon Sub-Saharan Africa $1,830 67.7
Barbados Latin America & Caribbean $26,545 67.7
Algeria Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $5,753 67.4
Guinea Sub-Saharan Africa $1,695 67.4
Australia East Asia & Pacific $64,604 66.9
Japan East Asia & Pacific $32,487 66.7
Spain Europe & Central Asia $35,327 65.3
New Zealand East Asia & Pacific $49,205 64.9
Cuba Latin America & Caribbean $9,605 64.9
Sao Tome and Principe Sub-Saharan Africa $3,491 62.6
Kuwait Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $32,718 62.3
China East Asia & Pacific $13,303 62.1
Cyprus Europe & Central Asia $38,674 61.2
Brazil Latin America & Caribbean $10,311 60.8
Costa Rica Latin America & Caribbean $18,587 60.7
Rwanda Sub-Saharan Africa $1,000 60.1
South Africa Sub-Saharan Africa $6,267 59.4
Korea, Rep. East Asia & Pacific $36,239 58.9
Fiji East Asia & Pacific $6,426 58.9
Kazakhstan Europe & Central Asia $14,155 56.7
Guatemala Latin America & Caribbean $6,150 56.7
Portugal Europe & Central Asia $29,292 55.4
Mongolia East Asia & Pacific $6,751 54.3
Denmark Europe & Central Asia $71,026 54.2
Jordan Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $4,618 51.6
Cote d'Ivoire Sub-Saharan Africa $2,728 51.6
Burkina Faso Sub-Saharan Africa $982 51.4
United Arab Emirates Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $50,274 51.2
Italy Europe & Central Asia $40,385 50.2
Mauritius Sub-Saharan Africa $11,991 47.9
Comoros Sub-Saharan Africa $1,663 47.0
Israel Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $54,177 46.6
Malaysia East Asia & Pacific $11,874 45.6
Nigeria Sub-Saharan Africa $1,084 44.2
Uganda Sub-Saharan Africa $1,078 40.7
United States North America $84,534 39.7
Cabo Verde Sub-Saharan Africa $5,192 39.0
Gambia, The Sub-Saharan Africa $871 38.6
Lebanon Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $3,478 38.0
Panama Latin America & Caribbean $19,161 36.8
Romania Europe & Central Asia $20,080 36.3
Finland Europe & Central Asia $53,150 35.7
West Bank and Gaza Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $2,592 35.4
Malta Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $43,899 34.5
Togo Sub-Saharan Africa $1,119 34.1
Georgia Europe & Central Asia $9,241 33.6
Bahrain Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $29,654 33.3
Qatar Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $76,689 33.3
Norway Europe & Central Asia $86,785 31.4
Latvia Europe & Central Asia $23,409 29.1
Gabon Sub-Saharan Africa $8,230 29.0
Russian Federation Europe & Central Asia $14,889 28.8
Botswana Sub-Saharan Africa $7,696 28.0
Belarus Europe & Central Asia $8,318 27.2
Benin Sub-Saharan Africa $1,485 25.2
Sierra Leone Sub-Saharan Africa $807 21.5
Ukraine Europe & Central Asia $5,389 21.1
Angola Sub-Saharan Africa $2,666 20.8
Lithuania Europe & Central Asia $29,384 19.6
Jamaica Latin America & Caribbean $7,754 17.1
Djibouti Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan $3,553 15.8
Antigua and Barbuda Latin America & Caribbean $23,542 15.7
Grenada Latin America & Caribbean $11,705 14.9
United Kingdom Europe & Central Asia $53,246 14.0
Bulgaria Europe & Central Asia $17,596 13.3
Poland Europe & Central Asia $25,104 13.0
Hungary Europe & Central Asia $23,292 11.0
Canada North America $54,340 10.7
Congo, Dem. Rep. Sub-Saharan Africa $649 10.5
France Europe & Central Asia $46,103 10.3
Switzerland Europe & Central Asia $103,998 9.2
Lesotho Sub-Saharan Africa $972 8.7
Liberia Sub-Saharan Africa $851 8.4
Serbia Europe & Central Asia $13,679 8.3
Croatia Europe & Central Asia $24,050 7.5
Moldova Europe & Central Asia $7,576 6.9
Seychelles Sub-Saharan Africa $17,859 6.6
North Macedonia Europe & Central Asia $9,292 6.4
Slovak Republic Europe & Central Asia $25,993 5.8
Brunei Darussalam East Asia & Pacific $33,153 5.8
Austria Europe & Central Asia $58,269 5.2
Equatorial Guinea Sub-Saharan Africa $6,745 5.1
Dominica Latin America & Caribbean $10,405 5.0
Sweden Europe & Central Asia $57,117 4.9
Maldives South Asia $13,379 4.5
Congo, Rep. Sub-Saharan Africa $2,482 4.4
Trinidad and Tobago Latin America & Caribbean $18,733 4.4
Germany Europe & Central Asia $56,104 4.2
Netherlands Europe & Central Asia $67,520 3.2
Czechia Europe & Central Asia $31,823 3.0
Ireland Europe & Central Asia $112,895 2.4
St. Kitts and Nevis Latin America & Caribbean $23,961 1.3
Luxembourg Europe & Central Asia $137,782 1.0
Belgium Europe & Central Asia $56,615 0.9
Central African Republic Sub-Saharan Africa $516 0.6
Estonia Europe & Central Asia $31,428 0.4
Slovenia Europe & Central Asia $34,301 0.4
Montenegro Europe & Central Asia $13,263 0.3
Papua New Guinea East Asia & Pacific $3,007 0.3
Iceland Europe & Central Asia $86,041 0.1
Singapore East Asia & Pacific $90,674 0.0
St. Vincent and the Grenadines Latin America & Caribbean $11,501 0.0

↓ Download this comparison (CSV) · 175 countries · source: FAO AQUASTAT · years 2018–2024