25 Countries, Housing One-quarter of the Population, Face Extremely High Water and Plastic Pollution Stress

New data from WRI’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas show that 25 countries—housing one-quarter of the global population—face extremely high water stress each year, regularly using up almost their entire available water supply. At least 50% of the world’s population—around 4 billion people—live under highly water-stressed conditions for at least one month of the year.

Living with this level of water stress jeopardizes people’s lives, jobs, food and energy security. Water is central to growing crops and raising livestock, producing electricity, maintaining human health, fostering equitable societies and meeting the world’s climate goals.

Without better water management, population growth, economic development and climate change are poised to worsen water stress. Here, we examine what’s causing growing water stress and which countries and regions will be most affected.

What’s Causing Global Water Stress?

Across the world, water demand is exceeding what’s available. Globally, demand has more than doubled since 1960. Increased water demand is often the result of growing populations and industries like irrigated agriculture, livestock, energy production and manufacturing. Meanwhile, lack of investment in water infrastructure, unsustainable water use policies or increased variability due to climate change can all affect the available water supply.

Water stress, the ratio of water demand to renewable supply, measures the competition over local water resources. The smaller the gap between supply and demand, the more vulnerable a place is to water shortages. A country facing “extreme water stress” means it is using at least 80% of its available supply, and a country facing “high water stress” means it is withdrawing 40% of its supply. Without intervention—such as investment in water infrastructure and better water governance—water stress will continue to worsen, particularly in places with rapidly growing populations and economies.

Which Countries Face the Worst Water Stress?

Our data shows that 25 countries are exposed to extremely high water stress annually, meaning they use over 80% of their renewable water supply for irrigation, livestock, industry and domestic needs. Even a short-term drought puts these places in danger of running out of water and sometimes prompts governments to shut off the taps. We’ve already seen this scenario in many locations worldwide, such as England, India, Iran, Mexico, and South Africa.

Bahrain, Cyprus, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, and Qatar are the five most water-stressed countries. Water stress in these countries is mainly driven by low supply paired with domestic, agricultural, and industrial demand. The most water-stressed regions are the Middle East and North Africa, where 83% of the population is exposed to extremely high water stress, and South Asia, where 74% is exposed.