Each person in Bangladesh had 1,913 cubic metres of renewable internal freshwater a year in 1962. By 2022, the latest year in the series, the figure was 620 cubic metres.
−68%
Change in renewable internal freshwater per person, 1962 to 2022.
The decline is steady rather than sudden: 1,193 m³ in 1980, 941 m³ in 1990, 780 m³ in 2000 and 690 m³ in 2010. It has continued in recent years, from 642 m³ in 2018 to 620 m³ in 2022.
The indicator divides the country’s internal renewable water (river flows and groundwater recharged by rainfall within its borders) by its population. Because the measure is a ratio, it falls whenever the population grows faster than the estimated water resource; it does not by itself show how much water was lost. The data do not show seasonal shortages, groundwater quality or river flows entering from outside the country, all of which matter greatly in Bangladesh. The series is also an FAO modelled estimate, not a direct count.
For policy, the trend means every additional person leaves less water to share, which raises the importance of efficient irrigation, groundwater management and protecting water quality. National averages hide how much supply varies by region and season.
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), AQUASTAT, via World Bank WDI (ER.H2O.INTR.PC).