All publications and documents

Water and ecosystems Facts and Figures ## One fifth of the world’s river basins are experiencing rapid changes in the area covered by surface waters, which indicates a growth in flooding, new reservoirs, and the drying up of water bodies. (UN-Water 2021) ## 21 million people, including 5 million children, live within 5 km of lakes with high turbidity (water…

Water and Gender Facts and Figures ## Fewer than 50 countries have laws or policies that specifically mention women’s participation for rural sanitation or water resources management. (UN-Water 2021) ## Women and girls are responsible for water collection in 8 out of 10 households with water off premises, which means reducing the population with limited drinking…

Water, Food and Energy Facts and Figures ## 72% of all water withdrawals are used by agriculture, 16% by municipalities for households and services, and 12% by industries. (UN-Water 2021) ## It typically takes between 3,000 and 5,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of rice, 2,000 litres for 1kg of soya, 900 litres for 1kg of wheat and 500 litres for 1kg of…

Water scarcity Facts and Figures ## 72% of all water withdrawals are used by agriculture, 16% by municipalities for households and services, and 12% by industries. (UN-Water 2021) ## When a territory withdraws 25% or more of its renewable freshwater resources it is said to be ‘water-stressed’. Five out of 11 regions have water stress values above 25%, including…

Water and Urbanization Facts and Figures ## The number of city inhabitants lacking safely managed drinking water has increased by more than 50% since 2000. (UN-Water 2021) ## 86% of people in urban areas have safely managed drinking water services, but only 60% of people rural areas have them. Safely managed sanitation services reach 62% of the world’s urban…

Scorching temperatures, infertile soils, limited water supplies, and frequent wind storms make the Phalodi township in India’s Thar desert an inhospitable place to live. Yet the abundance of open space and sunshine make this remote part of western Rajasthan an ideal place for harvesting solar power. Construction of the Bhadla Solar Park, near India’s border with Pakistan, began to…