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A quarter of the world's population (17 countries) face “extremely high” levels of baseline water stress, where irrigated agriculture, industries and municipalities withdraw more than 80% of their available supply of water annually.

According to the World Resources Institute, water withdrawals around the world have more than doubled since the 1960s due to the growing demand and are not slowing down.

12 of the 17 most water-stressed countries are in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. According to an estimate by the World Bank, the region could lose 6–14% of GDP by 2050 due to climate-related water scarcity.

India's groundwater resources are severely overdrawn. In many parts of northern India, the groundwater tables have declined at a rate of more than 8cm per year from 1990-2014.

Another 44 countries face “high” levels of stress, where more than 40% of the available supply is withdrawn every year.

These narrow gaps are extremely concerning, as they leave countries vulnerable to droughts, pose a threat to businesses and livelihoods.
 

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