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Australia

Location

  • Geographical region: Australia and New Zealand, Oceania
  • SDG region: SDG Australia and New Zealand

Land

  • Total area: --- km2
  • Land area: 7,692,020 km(2020)
  • Land use by sector: 47% agriculture, 17% forest and 36% other (2018 - 2020)

People

  • Total population: 25,978,935 people (2022)
  • Population density: 3 people per km2 (2020)  
  • Urbanisation: 85% lives in urban areas and 14% lives in rural areas (2020)  

Economy

  • Total GDP: 1,250,714,385,057 USD per year (2020)
  • GDP per capita: 48,143 USD per year (2020)
  • Value added by sector: 2% from agriculture, 66% from services and 28% from industry (2020 - 2022)
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SDG 6 snapshot in Australia

  • Drinking water

    --- % of the population in Australia uses a safely managed drinking water service (SDG indicator 6.1.1, 2022)
  • Sanitation

    96 % of the population in Australia uses a safely managed sanitation service (SDG indicator 6.2.1a, 2022)
  • Hygiene

    --- % of the population in Australia has a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home (SDG indicator 6.2.1b, 2022)
  • Wastewater

    96 % of domestic wastewater in Australia is safely treated (SDG indicator 6.3.1, 2022)
  • Water quality

    84 % of monitored water bodies in Australia has good ambient water quality (SDG indicator 6.3.2, 2023)
  • Efficiency

    78 $/m<sup>3</sup> is the value added from the use of water by people and the economy in Australia (SDG indicator 6.4.1, 2021)
  • Water stress

    5 % of the renewable water resources in Australia is being withdrawn, after taking into account environmental flow requirements (SDG indicator 6.4.2, 2021)
  • Water management

    85 % is the degree of implementation of integrated water resources management in Australia (SDG indicator 6.5.1, 2023) 
  • Transboundary

    --- % of transboundary basin area has an operational arrangement for water cooperation (SDG indicator 6.5.2, 2023)
  • Ecosystems

    21 % of the water basins in Australia is experiencing rapid changes in the area covered by surface waters (SDG 6 indicator 6.6.1, 2020)
  • Cooperation

    n/a is the amount of water- and sanitation-related official development assistance received by Australia in 2022 (SDG indicator 6.a.1)
  • Participation

    --- is the number of sub-sectors (out of 6) with a high level of participation by communities in Australia (SDG indicator 6.b.1, 2021)

Drinking water

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services in Australia, progress over time

6.1.1 Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services in Australia, by service level and location (2022)

Sanitation and hygiene

6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services in Australia, progress over time

6.2.1a Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services in Australia, by service level and location (2022)

6.2.1b Proportion of population with a handwashing facility with soap and water available at home in Australia, by service level and location (2022)

Water quality and wastewater

6.3.1 Proportion of wastewater flow (safely) treated > Domestic in Australia (2022), compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

6.3.1 Proportion of wastewater flow (safely) treated in Australia, by source (2015 - 2022)

6.3.2 Level 1 Proportion of bodies of water with good ambient water quality in Australia (2023), compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

Water use and scarcity

Water resources and withdrawal in Australia, total and per capita

Long-term average annual precipitation in depth: 534 (mm/year) (2020)

Renewable water resources: 20,123 m3 per capita (2017)

Water withdrawal: 660 m3 per capita (2016)

Environmental flow requirements: % of the renewable water resources ()

6.4.2 Level of water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available freshwater resources in Australia, change over time, compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

6.4.1 Change in water-use efficiency over time in Australia, by sector (2020)

Water-use efficiency for ‘Agriculture, forestry and fishing’ only takes into account the proportion of gross value added that comes from irrigated agriculture, since that activity is associated with water withdrawal (other activities are rain-fed).

6.4.1 Change in water-use efficiency over time in Australia, progress over time, compared to other countries (and areas) in the region

Water resources management

6.5.1 Degree of integrated water resources management implementation (0-100) in Australia, progress over time, by dimension

Very low (0-10) – Low (11-30) – Medium-low (31-50) – Medium-high (51-70) – High (71-90) – Very high (91-100)

6.5.2 Proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational arrangement for water cooperation in Australia, progress over time, by component

Very low (0-10) – Low (11-30) – Medium-low (31-50) – Medium-high (51-70) – High (71-90) – Very high (91-100)

International cooperation and capacity-building

Annual expenditure for drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in Australia, by funding source

Community participation

6.b.1 Procedures in law or policy for participation by users/communities and level of participation in Australia

6.b.1 Level of participation by users/communities in Australia, progress over time, by sub-sector