Irrigation statistics

This page shows statistical data on irrigation of agricultural lands worldwide.

(*) Including India, China and Pakistan There are 4 countries with 5 to 10 million ha irrigated land: Iran (7.7), Mexico (6.3), Turkey (5.1), and Thailand (5.0).

The 16 countries with 2 to 5 million ha irrigated land are: Bangladesh (4.7), Indonesia (4.5), Russia (4.5), Uzbekistan (4.3), Spain (3.8), Brazil (3.5), Iraq (3.5), Egypt (3.4), Romania (3.0), Vietnam (3.0), Italy (2.8), France (2.6), Japan (2.6), Australia (2.6), Ukraine (2.3), and Kazakhstan (2.1) 94% of the application methods of irrigation water at field level is of the category surface irrigation,[1] whereby the water is spread over the field by gravity.

This category includes tidal irrigation used in the lower part of rivers where the tidal influence is felt by permitting the river water to enter ditches at high tide and allowing it to infiltrate from there into the soil[2] In relative rare cases one uses labor-intensive methods like irrigation with watering-cans and by filling dug-in porous pots (pitcher irrigation) from where the water enters the soil by capillary suction.

Compared to the 8 600 km3 of annual river discharge in the drier climates only, the yearly water use for irrigation is 40% Of the total irrigated area worldwide 38% is equipped for irrigation with groundwater, especially in India (39 million ha), China (19 million ha) and the United States of America (17 million ha).