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Water Scarcity facts

Currently

Hands with water
1.1 Billion people
lack access to water and 2.7 billion experience water scarcity at least one month a year (worldwildlife.org).
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Many people crossing a road
In the last 50 years,
the human population has more than doubled. Today, 41% of the world’s population lives in river basins that are under water stress (worldwildlife.org).
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Nearly 1.8 billion people
in seventeen countries, or a quarter of the world’s population, appear to be veering towards a water crisis (bloomberg.com).
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Almost 20% diseases
caused in India are water borne. Estimates suggest at least 20 million people die each year due to the water borne diseases (bwsmartcities.businessworld.in).
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People carrying water
Women and girls
spend an estimated 200 million hours hauling water every day. The average woman in rural Africa walks 6 kilometers every day to haul 20 liters of water (worldvision.org).
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Girl drinking water
Every day, more than 800 children
under age 5 die from diarrhea attributed to poor water and sanitation (worldvision.org).
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Pollution of water
is correlated with population density and economic growth. At present 12% of the world population drinks water from unimproved and unsafe sources. By 2050, some pollutants will increase by 180% or more (nature.com).
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By 2025

Large pond
An estimated 1.8 billion people
will be living in areas plagued by water scarcity (National Geographic).
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1 Billion More People
will require food, and global agriculture will require 1 trillion cubic meters of water per year to meet the demand.
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30 Nations
will be water scarce (up from 20 in 1990).
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By 2030

Boy drinking water
Water demand in India
will reach 1.5 trillion cubic meters, more than double today’s demand (World Bank).
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Girl hauling water
40% of India’s population
will not have access to basic drinking water. The water which is currently available is not suitable for daily needs (bwsmartcities.businessworld.in).
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80% of the population
in Brazil, Russia, India and China will be under medium to severe water stress, up from 63% now (OECD).
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Humanity’s annual global requirements
will exceed current sustainable water supplies by 40%
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Girls taking water
The global middle class
will jump from 1.8 to 4.9 billion, resulting in an increase in freshwater consumption.
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The world will only have 60%
of the water it needs if current usage trends don’t change.
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Almost half the world
will live under conditions of high water stress.
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By 2050

Drought
Likelihood of persistent
severe drought in south-western USA calculated to be 85% (livescience.com).
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Forest degradation
by up to 65% causing changes in the ecosystems will impact on drinking water availability and quality (nature.com).
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Nearly 4 billion people
will be living in areas of persistent water scarcity - 40% of global total (globalwaterforum.org).
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Walking in desert
5.7 billion people worldwide
will be living in potential water-scarce areas at least 1 month per year (nature.com).
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