EarthTrends (http://earthtrends.wri.org) Searchable Database Results Provided by the World Resources Institute (http://www.wri.org) "Water Resources and Freshwater Ecosystems -- Groundwater Withdrawals: Withdrawals as a percent of annual recharge" "Units: Percent" ,,1973-2005, Country "Albania {1}","ALB",9.7, "Algeria {2}","DZA",195.0, "Argentina {3}","ARG",3.7, "Australia {4}","AUS",3.1, "Austria {5}","AUT",23.3, "Bangladesh {6}","BGD",50.7, "Belarus {7}","BLR",6.7, "Belgium {8}","BEL",88.9, "Benin {9}","BEN",2.3, "Botswana {10}","BWA",7.6, "Brazil {11}","BRA",0.4, "Brunei Darussalam {12}","BRN",40.0, "Bulgaria {13}","BGR",78.1, "Canada {14}","CAN",0.3, "Chad {15}","TCD",0.9, "China {16}","CHN",6.4, "Congo {17}","COG",0.0, "Cuba {18}","CUB",58.6, "Cyprus {19}","CYP",24.4, "Czech Rep {20}","CZE",35.0, "Denmark {21}","DNK",20.9, "Djibouti {22}","DJI",120.0, "Egypt {23}","EGY",541.8, "Finland {24}","FIN",9.1, "France {25}","FRA",6.0, "Gabon {26}","GAB",0.0, "Georgia {27}","GEO",17.4, "Germany {28}","DEU",15.5, "Ghana {29}","GHA",0.4, "Greece {30}","GRC",19.4, "Guinea {31}","GIN",0.2, "Guinea-Bissau {32}","GNB",0.2, "Hungary {33}","HUN",16.7, "Iceland {34}","ISL",0.8, "India {35}","IND",45.4, "Iran, Islamic Rep {36}","IRN",58.8, "Iraq {37}","IRQ",16.7, "Ireland {38}","IRL",1.9, "Israel {39}","ISR",240.0, "Italy {40}","ITA",32.3, "Japan {41}","JPN",50.4, "Jordan {42}","JOR",100.0, "Kazakhstan {43}","KAZ",39.3, "Korea, Rep {44}","KOR",18.8, "Kyrgyzstan {45}","KGZ",4.4, "Lebanon {46}","LBN",12.5, "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya {47}","LBY",853.6, "Lithuania {48}","LTU",16.7, "Luxembourg {49}","LUX",37.5, "Madagascar {50}","MDG",0.0, "Malaysia {51}","MYS",0.6, "Maldives {52}","MDV",0.0, "Mali {53}","MLI",0.5, "Malta {54}","MLT",60.0, "Mauritania {55}","MRT",300.0, "Mauritius {56}","MUS",16.6, "Mexico {57}","MEX",18.1, "Mongolia {58}","MNG",6.6, "Morocco {59}","MAR",31.7, "Namibia {60}","NAM",6.3, "Netherlands {61}","NLD",24.4, "Niger {62}","NER",4.0, "Norway {63}","NOR",0.4, "Oman {64}","OMN",41.9, "Pakistan {65}","PAK",109.1, "Peru {66}","PER",0.7, "Philippines {67}","PHL",2.2, "Poland {68}","POL",16.0, "Portugal {69}","PRT",77.5, "Qatar {70}","QAT",400.0, "Romania {71}","ROU",43.4, "Saudi Arabia {72}","SAU",654.5, "Senegal {73}","SEN",8.6, "Slovakia {74}","SVK",34.7, "Slovenia {75}","SVN",1.5, "Somalia {76}","SOM",0.4, "South Africa {77}","ZAF",37.5, "Spain {78}","ESP",18.1, "Sudan {79}","SDN",4.3, "Sweden {80}","SWE",3.0, "Switzerland {81}","CHE",36.0, "Syrian Arab Rep {82}","SYR",42.9, "Tajikistan {83}","TJK",38.3, "Thailand {84}","THA",1.7, "Tunisia {85}","TUN",127.1, "Turkey {86}","TUR",11.0, "Turkmenistan {87}","TKM",111.1, "Ukraine {88}","UKR",20.0, "United Arab Emirates {89}","ARE",1333.3, "United Kingdom {90}","GBR",25.5, "United States {91}","USA",8.4, "Uzbekistan {92}","UZB",84.1, "Viet Nam {93}","VNM",1.7, "Yemen {94}","YEM",93.3, "Zambia {95}","ZMB",0.1, "Zimbabwe {96}","ZWE",7.0, Footnotes "1 -- Albania" "1989 value" "2 -- Algeria" "1989 value" "3 -- Argentina" "1975 value" "4 -- Australia" "1985 value" "5 -- Austria" "1995 value" "6 -- Bangladesh" "1990 value" "7 -- Belarus" "1989 value" "8 -- Belgium" "1980 value" "9 -- Benin" "2000 value" "10 -- Botswana" "2000 value" "11 -- Brazil" "1987 value" "12 -- Brunei Darussalam" "1994 value" "13 -- Bulgaria" "1988 value" "14 -- Canada" "1990 value" "15 -- Chad" "1990 value" "16 -- China" "1988 value" "17 -- Congo" "2000 value" "18 -- Cuba" "1975 value" "19 -- Cyprus" "1998 value" "20 -- Czech Rep" "1995 value" "21 -- Denmark" "1995 value" "22 -- Djibouti" "2000 value" "23 -- Egypt" "1995 value" "24 -- Finland" "1995 value" "25 -- France" "1994 value" "26 -- Gabon" "1989 value" "27 -- Georgia" "1990 value" "28 -- Germany" "1990 value" "29 -- Ghana" "2000 value" "30 -- Greece" "1990 value" "31 -- Guinea" "1985 value" "32 -- Guinea-Bissau" "2000 value" "33 -- Hungary" "1995 value" "34 -- Iceland" "1995 value" "35 -- India" "1990 value" "36 -- Iran, Islamic Rep" "1980 value" "37 -- Iraq" "1985 value" "38 -- Ireland" "1995 value" "39 -- Israel" "1996 value" "40 -- Italy" "1992 value" "41 -- Japan" "1995 value" "42 -- Jordan" "1993 value" "43 -- Kazakhstan" "1993 value" "44 -- Korea, Rep" "1995 value" "45 -- Kyrgyzstan" "1994 value" "46 -- Lebanon" "1991 value" "47 -- Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" "2000 value" "48 -- Lithuania" "1995 value" "49 -- Luxembourg" "1995 value" "50 -- Madagascar" "2000 value" "51 -- Malaysia" "1995 value" "52 -- Maldives" "1987 value" "53 -- Mali" "1989 value" "54 -- Malta" "1998 value" "55 -- Mauritania" "1985 value" "56 -- Mauritius" "2005 value" "57 -- Mexico" "1995 value" "58 -- Mongolia" "1993 value" "59 -- Morocco" "2000 value" "60 -- Namibia" "2000 value" "61 -- Netherlands" "1990 value" "62 -- Niger" "1988 value" "63 -- Norway" "1985 value" "64 -- Oman" "1985 value" "65 -- Pakistan" "1991 value" "66 -- Peru" "1973 value" "67 -- Philippines" "1980 value" "68 -- Poland" "1995 value" "69 -- Portugal" "1995 value" "70 -- Qatar" "1994 value" "71 -- Romania" "1993 value" "72 -- Saudi Arabia" "1990 value" "73 -- Senegal" "1985 value" "74 -- Slovakia" "1995 value" "75 -- Slovenia" "1994 value" "76 -- Somalia" "2005 value" "77 -- South Africa" "1980 value" "78 -- Spain" "1995 value" "79 -- Sudan" "1985 value" "80 -- Sweden" "1995 value" "81 -- Switzerland" "1995 value" "82 -- Syrian Arab Rep" "1993 value" "83 -- Tajikistan" "1994 value" "84 -- Thailand" "1980 value" "85 -- Tunisia" "2000 value" "86 -- Turkey" "1995 value" "87 -- Turkmenistan" "1994 value" "88 -- Ukraine" "1989 value" "89 -- United Arab Emirates" "1995 value" "90 -- United Kingdom" "1995 value" "91 -- United States" "1990 value" "92 -- Uzbekistan" "1994 value" "93 -- Viet Nam" "1990 value" "94 -- Yemen" "1985 value" "95 -- Zambia" "1990 value" "96 -- Zimbabwe" "2000 value" Source "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Land and Water Development Division. 2003. AQUASTAT online database. Rome: FAO. Available on-line at http://www.fao.org/waicent/faoinfo/agricult/agl/aglw/aquastat/dbase/index.stm." "" "WRI Groundwater Compilation:" "Bureau de Recherche Géologique et Minière (BRGM). 1990. Les Eaux Souterraines dans le Monde. France." "Economic Commission for Europe. 1992. The Environment in Europe and North America. United Nations, New York." "Margat, J. and D. Vallee. 1999. Blue Plan-Water Resources and Uses in the Mediterranean Countries. Sophia Antipolis." "Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). 1997. OECD Environmental Data Compendium 1997. Paris." "Shiklomanov, I.A. 1997. Comprehensive Assessment of the Freshwater Resources of the World. Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm." Technical Notes "Definition:" "Groundwater withdrawals as a percent of annual recharge refers to the total abstractions from groundwater sources, including nonrenewable sources, per year, as a percent of the total internal renewable groundwater resources (or groundwater recharge volume). " "" "Groundwater is defined as any subsurface water that exists in the zone of saturation (i.e., below the water table). This water is commonly present as underground streams and aquifers and often feeds wells and springs on the surface. Groundwater recharge is the total volume of water entering underground sources of water (typically aquifers) within a country's borders from endogenous (internal) precipitation and surface water flow. Natural incoming flows originating from outside a country's borders are not included in the total." "" "Withdrawals are made from groundwater sources for use in the agricultural, domestic, and industrial sectors. Excessive reduction of the groundwater supply (i.e., beyond its capacity to recharge) will lower the water table and can result in several detrimental effects to the usable groundwater supply, including dry wells, increased land subsidence, and saltwater encroachment." "" "Years Covered and Frequency of Update:" "Annual percentage totals are for the years 1973, 1975, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1987-1996, 1998, 2000, and 2005, as determined by the year of the original total annual groundwater withdrawal data. Since data are sparse and time series rarely include more than one data point per country, data have been presented as a single column (1973-2005). The value presented is the most recent total reported for a given country. The actual year each value was reported is available within the footnote for each country." "" "Recharge data were actually collected over a period of 15 to 25 years and compiled in 2003 by the AQUASTAT global information system of water and agriculture. The current AQUASTAT database provides data per 5-year period if available. For this variable, however, AQUASTAT lists only one number for each country over the entire time period covered by the database (1960-2005). " "" "The AQUASTAT database is updated as new data become available, or when FAO conducts special regional studies." "" "Methodology:" "Groundwater withdrawal as a percent of annual recharge data are calculated by dividing the total volume of groundwater withdrawals by the volume of groundwater recharge for each country and multiplying the result by 100. " "" "Groundwater resources are typically estimated by measuring rainfall and the base flow of rivers. In arid, semi-arid, and karstic areas (areas containing a porous karst limestone rock matrix) surface water flow and precipitation recharge groundwater by infiltrating through the soil during floods. This recharge is either directly measured or inferred by characteristics of the aquifers and piezometric levels. In arid and semi-arid countries, all groundwater flow is considered to overlap with surface base flow. In humid areas, groundwater is estimated to be equal to the base flow of rivers. Groundwater infiltration tends to be overestimated in arid areas and underestimated in humid areas." "" "Most groundwater withdrawal data were collected by WRI staff in 2000 from several disparate publication sources (see source listing). The publications used in the WRI compilation are typically comprehensive regional assessments of numerous hydrologic variables. Please refer to individual sources for details of author methodologies." "" "In 2005, these data were complemented with values available from the FAO AQUASTAT Database (available on-line here). The FAO collects its data for AQUASTAT (including recharge values) from a number of sources; preferred data comes from the literature or national and sub-national surveys and reports. In most cases, a critical analysis of the information is necessary to ensure consistency between the different data collected for a given country. When possible, cross-checking of information between countries was used to improve assessment in countries where information was limited. " "" "For more information please see the following publication: Review of World Water Resources by Country: Water Reports 23. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. Rome: 2003." "" "Data Reliability:" "Although substantial care was taken when compiling the data for this variable, freshwater data are generally of poor quality. Information sources are numerous but rarely complete. Access to information on water resources is still sometimes restricted for reasons related to sensitivity at the regional level. Despite the FAO's rigorous guidelines for calculating final AQUASTAT variable values, the accuracy and reliability of the original information provided varies greatly among regions, countries, and categories of information, as does the year in which the information was gathered. In addition, during the WRI compilation, country-level values taken from the regional assessments occasionally incorporated subtle variations in the corresponding definition terminology. Country-level values were also sometimes estimated from graphs and charts within these assessments. As a result, no consistency can be ensured at the regional level on the duration and dates of the period of reference. Cross-country comparisons should therefore be made with caution."