Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income): Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic meters)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)'s renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic meters) fell 5.72 on 2021 (from 465.35 to 459.62).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1992 to 2021), the average change was −13.89 and a typical year strayed about 4.48 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.8 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 136.51 in 1962 and the biggest yearly fall was 52.78 in 1963. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is downward, about 8.43 a year. A straight line explains 100% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 429.99 for 2025. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2020 to 2022 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 6.34, against 15.63 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Renewable internal freshwater resources flows refer to internal renewable resources (internal river flows and groundwater from rainfall) in the country. Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita are calculated using the World Bank's population estimates.

Limitations: A common perception is that most of the available freshwater resources are visible (on the surfaces of lakes, reservoirs and rivers). However, this visible water represents only a tiny fraction of global freshwater resources, as most of it is stored in aquifers, with the largest stocks stored in solid form in the Antarctic and in Greenland's ice cap. The data on freshwater resources are based on estimates of runoff into rivers and recharge of groundwater. These estimates are based on different sources and refer to different years, so cross-country comparisons should be made with caution.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 62 values

Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic meters) in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 1,162 (2022)
• Algeria — 247.31 (2022)
• Bahrain — 2.62 (2022)
• Djibouti — 263.83 (2022)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 8.88 (2022)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 1,435 (2022)
• Iraq — 798.72 (2022)
• Israel — 80.03 (2021)
• Jordan

More environment data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)

• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 21.85% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 20.12% (2025)
• Rural population — 355.37 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 47.14% (2025)
• Urban population — 398.54 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 52.86% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan (excluding high income)'s renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic meters)?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator ER.H2O.INTR.PC, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: AQUASTAT - FAO's Global Information System on Water and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), uri: https://data.apps.fao.org/aquastat/, publisher: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), date accessed: 20240529 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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