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What Are Some Global Water Crisis Facts?

Global water crisis facts are tracked by organizations such as the United Nations Water, World Resources Institute, World Health Organization, World Vision and more. Here is what they report. From World Vision: 785 million people worldwide lack access to clean water. That’s one in 10 people. Women and girls spend an estimated 200 million hours hauling water every day. The average rural African woman walks 6 kilometers every day to haul 40 pounds of water. Every day, more than 800 children under 5 die from diarrhea caused by contaminated water, poor sanitation and unsafe hygiene practices. [1] From United Nations Water: Of the 89 countries worldwide with water quality data, only 52 have information about ground water, which is problematic because groundwater often represents the largest share of freshwater in a country. Several water-related diseases, including cholera and schistosomiasis, remain widespread across many developing countries, where only a very small fraction (in some case...
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Is There a World Water Crisis?

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It may not be in the headlines, but a world water crisis is emerging in more and more places on the globe. [1] The crisis that is starting to take shape may not be obvious to those in countries where the infrastructure for piped water is established. In order to meet this crisis, the United Nations has adopted the Sustainable Development Goal No. 6, which is for clean water and sanitation, two issues that are inextricably linked. They estimate that 44 percent of household wastewater is not properly treated. They also reported, “Water quality data are not collected routinely in a majority of countries. This means that over 3 billion people are at risk because the health of their freshwater ecosystems is unknown.” [2] This means that just under half of the world’s population cannot trust the water that is available to them. One reason for this is because the world’s water cycle has been so negatively impacted by water pollution. “Water pollution is increasing throughout the water cycle....
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Why Is There a Water Crisis in Africa?

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There is a water crisis in Africa due to several factors. There are currently more than 1.2 billion people on the continent of Africa, which is comprised of 54 separate countries. [1] Each has unique cultural, geographical, economic and governmental situations that affect the availability of water in that region. One of Africa’s leading factors in the water crisis is population growth. Rates of growth hover around two and three percent for many of these separate countries, meaning that the continent will gain approximately 3.5 million people yearly. [2] There is not enough water for the current population. The World Resources Institute reports, “Inequitable access to basic water services, loss of natural water systems, unplanned urban expansion, and more frequent and intense droughts and floods will undermine the security, well-being and development prospects of Africa’s urban dwellers — 60% of whom live in slums.” [3] The expansion of cities can be good and helpful for the populatio...
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The Africa Water Crisis Can Be Solved

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More than 1.4 billion people live on the continent of Africa, which is about 16 percent of the world’s population. It’s estimated that one in three people in Africa experience the effects of water scarcity. [1] Population growth, urbanization and industrialization are all contributing to the Africa water crisis, and it is on its way to catastrophe. “There’s only so many ways we can say ‘time is running out’ and only so many analogies to indicate how serious the situation will soon be if we don’t see critical action from world leaders now,” reported Global Citizen, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing issues like water scarcity to the forefront, including the water crisis in Africa . [2] The World Health Organization closely monitors world water crisis and accessibility throughout the globe, as one country’s usage can affect another’s. “By 2025, half of the world’s population will be living in water-stressed areas. Re-use of wastewater, to recover water, nutrients, or energy...
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Water Stressed Countries

Currently, 41% of the population resides in regions under water stress. [1] About 2.3 billion people live in water-stressed countries. Out of this number, 733 million live in high and critically water-stressed nations. [2] And, at least one month a year, nearly two-thirds of the population, or 4 billion people, suffer from water scarcity. [3] Among the worst off are the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). [4] These countries receive less rainfall, and the region’s nations are densely populated and quickly growing. These countries are examples of physical scarcity when it comes to water. Central African countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo exemplify countries that get plenty of rainfall but lack infrastructure to manage water supply. That said, 82% of MENA’s wastewater is not reused and therefore is poorly managed, too. [5] One-quarter of the global population live in the 18 countries with extremely high water stress. They are: Qatar Israel Lebanon Palestine Iran Jordan L...
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What is Water Stress?

You may have heard the term thrown around, but exactly what is water stress? Water stress occurs when water resources in a region cannot meet people’s demand for use. When we look at the question of what is water stress, the United Nations defines it numerically as occurring when a region withdraws a quarter or more of its renewable freshwater resources. [1] It can stem from poor quality water, availability or management. Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water supplies. This happens through over-exploitation of underground aquifers by digging too many wells. Farmers often dig new borewells after seeing how productive a neighbor’s is, without proper planning. In addition, overpumping water with mechanical pumps wastes water. In South Asia, farmers have increasingly relied on borewells with motorized pumps. The region accounts for nearly 50% of water used worldwide for irrigation. One country in South Asia heavily subsidizes, or freely provides, electricity that runs motoriz...
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Water Stress

When it’s so easy for us to turn on a faucet to get a glass of water, it’s hard to comprehend how many people lack access to clean water worldwide. Though improvements have been made globally, 2.2 billion people are still without access to safely managed drinking water. Of those, 884 million people don’t even have clean water they can collect within a 30-minute timeframe. [1] Contaminated water causes millions of deaths annually. It contributes to 60% of diarrheal deaths worldwide. [2] Every year, 1.7 billion children under the age of 5 suffer from diarrhea. About 446,000 of them die from the ailment annually. [3] Meanwhile, 95,000 people die from cholera (while 3 million suffer from the disease), and 129,000 die from typhoid (out of 11 million who become infected). [4] Millions of people also suffer from tropical diseases that come from unclean water or the lack of hygiene that results from it. Some, like Guinea worm disease, are extremely painful parasitic infections. Others, like tr...
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