Global water use – Quick facts

Water is the most important resource on our planet. Since the world population rapidly grows so does the water demand, especially with the increased urbanization in developing countries.

The researchers have calculated that the global water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of global population increase.

It is estimated that the global water use will increase by 50% by 2025 in developing countries, and close to 20% in developed world.

Climate change could have severe impact on global water use in form of more severe floods, droughts and shifts from past precipitation patterns. There is a lot of water on our planet but only 2,5% of total water on our planet refers to fresh water, two-thirds of which are frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps. Irrigation is the largest fresh water user in the world by using around 70% of the planet's freshwater resources. Industry accounts for approximately 22%, and domestic use accounts for only 8%.

More than one billion people in the world lack access to clean drinking water, which leads to different waterborne diseases and million of deaths each year. Desalination of the water may just be the solution to satisfy the ever-growing demand for water as the result of rapid global population increase. Science is already working on affordable and effective desalination solutions such as using different nanotechnology solutions.

Sustainable water management on global level is the best solution to tackle climate change and global population growth, the two main threats to future global water use.

The term water stress has been coined to describe the situations where there is not enough water for all uses, or in other words the situations where total water demand is bigger then the actual water supply.

Water pollution is already playing big role in global water use by decreasing the total amount of drinking water in the world, especially in the form of sewage disposal. The increasing water scarcity in some areas of the world could also become a source of future wars.