Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Japan

Japan: Share of land covered by lakes and rivers was 0.42 in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
0.42
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
105th
of 207 countries
All-time high
0.45
in 2000
All-time low
0.42
in 2017
Years of data
23
2000–2022

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

00.10.20.30.40.52000201120222000: 0.452001: 0.442002: 0.442003: 0.432004: 0.442005: 0.432006: 0.432007: 0.442008: 0.442009: 0.432010: 0.432011: 0.432012: 0.432013: 0.432014: 0.432015: 0.432016: 0.432017: 0.422018: 0.422019: 0.422020: 0.422021: 0.422022: 0.42

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Japan recorded 0.42 for share of land covered by lakes and rivers in 2022. That is the lowest value across all 23 years on record.

That represents a change of down 2.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Japan peaked at 0.45 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0.42, in 2017.

Japan ranks 105th of 207 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.437 0.43 0.45 10
2010s 0.427 0.42 0.43 10
2020s 0.42 0.42 0.42 3

Countries ranked near Japan

  1. 103 Honduras 0.43 compare
  2. 103 Democratic People’s Republic of Korea 0.43 compare
  3. 106 United States Virgin Islands 0.41 compare
  4. 107 Belgium 0.39 compare
  5. 108 Bulgaria 0.37 compare

See the full ranking of 207 places →

More reference data data for Japan

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Japan?
Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Japan was 0.42 in 2022, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of land covered by lakes and rivers recorded in Japan?
The highest recorded value was 0.45 in 2000.
What is the lowest share of land covered by lakes and rivers recorded in Japan?
The lowest recorded value was 0.42 in 2017.
How does Japan rank for share of land covered by lakes and rivers?
Japan ranks 105th out of 207 countries with data for 2022.
Is share of land covered by lakes and rivers rising or falling in Japan?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Japan data come from?
The figures come from 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 Japan. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-land-covered-by-lakes-and-rivers/japan/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of land covered by lakes and rivers
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
207 places, 4,761 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed