Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany

Germany: Share of land covered by lakes and rivers was 0.9% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
0.9%
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
54th
of 208 countries
All-time high
0.9%
in 2021
All-time low
0.5%
in 2000
Years of data
23
2000–2022

Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany, 2000–2022

00.20.40.60.812000201120222000: 0.46 %2001: 0.64 %2002: 0.81 %2003: 0.87 %2004: 0.88 %2005: 0.89 %2006: 0.89 %2007: 0.9 %2008: 0.91 %2009: 0.9 %2010: 0.9 %2011: 0.9 %2012: 0.9 %2013: 0.91 %2014: 0.92 %2015: 0.93 %2016: 0.93 %2017: 0.94 %2018: 0.94 %2019: 0.94 %2020: 0.94 %2021: 0.95 %2022: 0.95 %

Source: UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany is 0.9%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is up 5.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany peaked at 0.9% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2000.

Germany ranks 54th of 208 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.

Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany, year by year

Annual values for Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany, 2000 to 2022.
Year % Change
2000 0.5% —
2001 0.6% +39.1%
2002 0.8% +26.6%
2003 0.9% +7.4%
2004 0.9% +1.1%
2005 0.9% +1.1%
2006 0.9% +0.0%
2007 0.9% +1.1%
2008 0.9% +1.1%
2009 0.9% -1.1%
2010 0.9% +0.0%
2011 0.9% +0.0%
2012 0.9% +0.0%
2013 0.9% +1.1%
2014 0.9% +1.1%
2015 0.9% +1.1%
2016 0.9% +0.0%
2017 0.9% +1.1%
2018 0.9% +0.0%
2019 0.9% +0.0%
2020 0.9% +0.0%
2021 0.9% +1.1%
2022 0.9% +0.0%

Germany compared with similar countries

  • Germany's 0.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.5%, 2.1× the median. (82 countries reporting)
  • Germany's 0.9% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.7%, 1.4× the median. (53 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2001 +39.1% 0.5% 0.6%
2002 +26.6% 0.6% 0.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.8% 0.5% 0.9% 10
2010s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 10
2020s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 3

Countries ranked near Germany

  1. 51 Denmark 1.0% compare
  2. 52 Poland 1.0% compare
  3. 53 Guatemala 1.0% compare
  4. 55 Peru 0.9% compare
  5. 56 Argentina 0.9% compare
  6. 56 Gambia 0.9% compare
  7. 56 Turkey 0.9% compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More reference data data for Germany

All data for Germany →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany?
Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany was 0.9% in 2022, according to UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of land covered by lakes and rivers recorded in Germany?
The highest recorded value was 0.9% in 2021.
What is the lowest share of land covered by lakes and rivers recorded in Germany?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2000.
How does Germany rank for share of land covered by lakes and rivers?
Germany ranks 54th out of 208 countries with data for 2022.
Is share of land covered by lakes and rivers rising or falling in Germany?
Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Germany data come from?
The figures come from UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land covered by lakes and rivers. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Germany. Statizoid, drawing on UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-land-covered-by-lakes-and-rivers/germany/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of land covered by lakes and rivers
Unit
%
Source
UN Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
208 places, 4,784 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed

Lakes and rivers permanent water area (% of total land area).