How many litres of water do we use per day?

On average, Dutch people used 129 litres of water a day in 2021. By far most of this water is used to shower: just over 46 litres a day. An average person in the Netherlands showers for just over seven minutes a day, six days a week. Flushing the toilet also costs relatively large volumes of water: 30 litres per person per day.

People in the over-65s age group use most water: 143 litres a day on average. This may be because many of them no longer work and spend more time at home. Children up to 15 years of age use least water: 102 litres. Men use about the same amount of water as women.

People who live alone use more water on average than those living with others. This is partly because they use water to wash or cook for just one person, not for a family. Average household water use is 275 litres a day.

Show datatableAverage daily water consumption per person (litres)Hide datatableAverage daily water consumption per person (litres)

Average daily water consumption per person (litres)

Categorie	Groep	Water consumption
Total	, Total	129
Sex	Man, Sex	128
Sex	Woman, Sex	129
Age	0-14 yrs, Age	102
Age	15-24 yrs, Age	129
Age	25-44 yrs, Age	132
Age	45-64 yrs, Age	130
Age	65 yrs and over, Age	143
Household type	Single-person household, Household type	186
Household type	Couple without children, Household type	129
Household type	Couple with children, Household type	110
Household type	Single-parent household, Household type	109

Young people shower most and longest

On average, Dutch people shower just under six times a week, and spend 7.4 minutes doing so. People in the age group 15 to 24 years shower relatively more often, on average even more than once a day. They also spend more time in the shower (8.4 minutes) than people aged 45 and older. Men shower more often than women, but spend the same time doing so on average.

Show datatableNumber of showers per week, 2021 (times per week)Hide datatableNumber of showers per week, 2021 (times per week)

Number of showers per week, 2021 (times per week)

Categorie	Groep	Number of showers per week
Total	, Total	5.7
Sex	Man, Sex	6.3
Sex	Woman, Sex	5.2
Age	0-14 yrs, Age	5.2
Age	15-24 yrs, Age	8.7
Age	25-44 yrs, Age	5.5
Age	45-64 yrs, Age	5
Age	65 yrs and over, Age	5.6

How much water is used for showering also depends on the type of showerhead people have. Rainfall showerheads used more water per shower than normal or water-efficient showerheads. Nearly half of Dutch people have normal showerheads, nearly 39 percent have – or additionally have – a water efficient showerhead and 24 percent have a rainfall showerhead.

Three toilet flushes a day

After showering, flushing the toilet uses most water. On average people flush the toilet three times a day. Over-65s flush most, and women flush slightly more often than men.

An average 17 litres of water a day is used to do laundry. Nearly everyone in the Netherlands (98 percent) owns a washing machine. They do just over two washes a week on average, using 49 litres for each wash. The amount of water used depends on the cycle used and on the make and year of manufacture of the machine.

The Dutch use relatively small amounts of water for household cleaning (17 litres), watering houseplants (0.8 litres), and pet care (0.6 litres).

The questions

1. What keeps people from eating healthier?
2. What is working people’s income?
3. How much of the energy we consume is renewable?
4. What percentage wears glasses?
5. How are the dragonflies and butterflies doing?
6. How many housing units are there?
7. How does home burglary affect people?
8. In what occupations do most people work from home?
9. How much more expensive did food get?
10. How many babies were born to unmarried mothers?
11. From which countries do most immigrants come?
12. How many centenarians are there?
13. How do fathers and mothers divide work and care?
14. How many cars are there?
15. How much milk does a cow produce?
16. What portion of income went to food in 1936?
17. How many pigs were there in 1910?
18. How many cattle and pigs in the Netherlands?
19. What do we import from China?
20. What type of shop is seen less and less?
21. How many nights are spent in Dutch hotels?
22. How often do older people have contact with neighbours?
23. How many adults comply with the physical activity guidelines?
24. Where do international students in the Netherlands come from?
25. What are the major religions?
26. How many litres of water do we use per day?
27. How many millionaires in the Netherlands?
28. How many inhabitants in the Netherlands??
29. Where can we ride our bikes?
30. At what age do workers retire?
31. Which day has the most birthdays?
32. How many people have a student debt?
33. How does CBS handle your privacy?