Water: Stocks

A renewable flow that is shrinking per person

What this tab covers How much is left and how much is held. For minerals and energy: reserves, current output, years of supply and recycling for the top five countries. For farm commodities: production, ending stocks and stocks-to-use for the top five producers (USDA, October 2026). It also covers inventories and stockpiles.

Top five countries: reserves, output and years of supply

Country	Reserves total renewable water resources, km³ per year (a flow, not a stock; AQUASTAT via World Bank, 2020)	Current output freshwater withdrawal, km³ (2022)	Years of supply	Recycling
India	1,911	648	–	n/a
China	2,840	569	–	n/a
United States	3,069	444	–	n/a
Indonesia	2,019	223	–	n/a
Pakistan	–	179	–	n/a

FAO AQUASTAT Water Data Snapshot 2025 (withdrawals, 2022); AQUASTAT via World Bank WDI (renewable resources, 2020). Years of supply = reserves ÷ current output; reserves grow as prices and technology change, so this is not a countdown. Years of supply is not meaningful for a renewable flow, so it is left blank. Water stress (SDG 6.4.2, 2022): India 66%, United States 28%, Indonesia 30%, Pakistan 110% (FAO). Pakistan's renewable resource figure was not in the sources reviewed. China's withdrawal (568.48 km³) is not in the 2022 Snapshot: it is the AQUASTAT value for 2020 carried forward in World Bank WDI.

Recycling

Water is not used up in most uses: much of what is withdrawn returns to rivers and aquifers, though often polluted or in a different place. What is lost to the basin is evaporation and transpiration, mainly from irrigation. Reuse of treated municipal wastewater is growing, led by Europe and North America (FAO 2025), Israel and Singapore, but consistent country rates are not published. The real stocks are reservoirs, aquifers, snowpack and glaciers: aquifers under Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana lost about 17.7 km³ a year in 2002-08 (Rodell et al. 2009, GRACE satellites), and India's stage of groundwater extraction was 60.63% in 2025 (CGWB).

Water is a renewable flow, so reserve life is not a useful measure. Renewable freshwater per person was 5,326 m³ in 2022, down 7% since 2015 as population grew (FAO). Brazil has the largest renewable resources at 8,647 km³ a year, followed by Russia, the United States, Canada and China (AQUASTAT). The stocks that buffer droughts are reservoirs, aquifers, snowpack and glaciers. Aquifers are being mined where pumping exceeds recharge: GRACE satellites showed Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana losing about 17.7 km³ a year in 2002-08 (Rodell et al. 2009). India now uses 60.6% of its extractable groundwater, and 10.8% of assessment units are over-exploited (CGWB 2025).

Most withdrawn water is not destroyed: much returns to rivers and aquifers, often polluted, and reuse of treated wastewater is growing from a small base.