Statistics of the Water Crisis
updated 8/17/2011
- Globally we use 70% of our water sources for agriculture and irrigation, and only 10% on domestic uses.1
- 84% of the people who don’t have access to improved water, live in rural areas, where they live principally through subsistence agriculture.2
- Less than one in three people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to a proper toilet.2
- Over half of the developing world’s primary schools do not have access to water and sanitation facilities. Without toilets, girls typically drop out of school at puberty.3
- 443 million school days are lost each year due to water-related diseases.4
- Girls under the age of 15 are twice as likely as boys their age to be the family member responsible for fetching water.2
- Almost two-thirds, 64% of households rely on women to get the family’s water when there is no water source in the home.2
- In developing countries, as much of 80% of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions.5
- Nearly 1 out of every 5 deaths under the age of 5 worldwide is due to a water-related disease.6
- By investing in clean water alone, young children around the world can gain more than 413 million days of health!7
- Half of the world's hospital beds are filled with people suffering from a water-related disease.8
- Nearly a billion, 884 million people do not have access to clean and safe water. 37% of those people live in Sub-Saharan Africa.2
- The average container for water collection in Africa, the jerry can weighs over 40 lbs when full. 9
- The United Nations estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa alone loses 40 billion hours per year collecting water; that’s the same as a whole year’s worth of labor by the entire workforce in France!10
- Research has shown that for every 10% increase in women’s literacy, a country’s whole economy can grow by up to 0.3%.11
- According to the World Health Organization, for every $1 invested in water and sanitation, there is an economic return of between $3 and $34!12
- 1 in 8 people world wide do not have access to safe and clean drinking water.13
Citations
- AQUASTAT. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. “Water Use.” http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/water_use/index.stm
- WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. “Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water 2010.” Available at www.wssinfo.org/
- UNICEF. “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” Updated May 2010. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_45481.html
- United Nations Development Programme. “Human Development Report 2006: Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis.” 2006. Available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006/
- United Nations. Statement by Secretary General Koffi Annan. June 2003. http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2003/sgsm8707.doc.htm
- WHO/UNICEF. “Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done.” 2009. available at http://www.unicef.org/health/index_51412.html.
- World Health Organization. “Costs and benefits of water and sanitation improvements at the global level.” http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wsh0404/en/
- United Nations Development Programme. “Human Development Report 2006: Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and the Global Water Crisis.” 2006. Available at http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2006/
- Jerry cans carry approx. 5 gallons of water so if a single gallon of water weighs 8.3 pounds, 5 gallons are 41.5 pounds.
- United Nations Development Programme. “Resource Guide on Gender and Climate Change.” 2009. Available at http://www.undp.org/climatechange/library_gender.shtml
- UNICEF. “Water, Sanitation and Hygiene” Updated May 2010. http://www.unicef.org/media/media_45481.html
- World Health Organization. Executive Summary of “Costs and benefits of water and sanitation improvements at the global level.” www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/wsh0404summary/en/
- Based on 87% of the global population using imprtoved sources. Found in WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. “Progress on Sanitation and Drinking Water 2010.” Available at www.wssinfo.org/
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