Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Tonga

Tonga: Share of land covered by lakes and rivers was 2.2% in 2022. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2022)
2.2%
Change on year
up 9.4%
World rank
26th
of 208 countries
All-time high
2.2%
in 2022
All-time low
0.1%
in 2000
Years of data
23
2000–2022

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

00.511.522000201120222000: 0.08 %2001: 0.17 %2002: 0.25 %2003: 0.42 %2004: 0.45 %2005: 0.55 %2006: 0.54 %2007: 0.65 %2008: 0.63 %2009: 0.77 %2010: 0.77 %2011: 0.79 %2012: 0.67 %2013: 0.58 %2014: 0.66 %2015: 0.74 %2016: 1 %2017: 1.3 %2018: 1.6 %2019: 1.7 %2020: 1.8 %2021: 2 %2022: 2.2 %

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

Analysis

In 2022, share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Tonga stood at 2.2%. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.

The figure is up 9.4% on the previous year and up 231.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Tonga peaked at 2.2% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 2000.

That places Tonga 26th out of 208 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

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

Annual values for Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Tonga, 2000 to 2022.
Year % Change
2000 0.1% —
2001 0.2% +112.5%
2002 0.2% +47.1%
2003 0.4% +68.0%
2004 0.5% +7.1%
2005 0.6% +22.2%
2006 0.5% -1.8%
2007 0.7% +20.4%
2008 0.6% -3.1%
2009 0.8% +22.2%
2010 0.8% +0.0%
2011 0.8% +2.6%
2012 0.7% -15.2%
2013 0.6% -13.4%
2014 0.7% +13.8%
2015 0.7% +12.1%
2016 1.0% +37.8%
2017 1.3% +29.4%
2018 1.6% +22.0%
2019 1.7% +7.5%
2020 1.8% +6.4%
2021 2.0% +10.3%
2022 2.2% +9.4%

Tonga compared with similar countries

  • Tonga's 2.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5%, 4.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
  • Tonga's 2.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.4%, 5.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Tonga 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 +112.5% 0.1% 0.2%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 0.5% 0.1% 0.8% 10
2010s 1.0% 0.6% 1.7% 10
2020s 2.0% 1.8% 2.2% 3

Countries ranked near Tonga

  1. 23 United States 2.6% compare
  2. 24 Russia 2.5% compare
  3. 25 Tanzania 2.3% compare
  4. 27 Israel 2.0% compare
  5. 28 Norway 1.9% compare
  6. 29 Uzbekistan 1.9% compare

See the full ranking of 208 places →

More reference data data for Tonga

All data for Tonga →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Tonga?
Share of land covered by lakes and rivers in Tonga was 2.2% 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 Tonga?
The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 2022.
What is the lowest share of land covered by lakes and rivers recorded in Tonga?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 2000.
How does Tonga rank for share of land covered by lakes and rivers?
Tonga ranks 26th out of 208 countries with data for 2022.
Is share of land covered by lakes and rivers rising or falling in Tonga?
Over the last ten years it is up 231.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Tonga 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 Tonga. 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/tonga/

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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).