Water stress
Water stress
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ER.PTD.TOTL.ZS
| Title | Water stress |
| Unit of measure | Percentage |
| Source data | World Bank |
| Original data source | AQUASTAT – FAO’s Global Information System on Water and Agriculture |
| Statistical concepts and definition | The level of water stress is the ratio between total freshwater withdrawn by all major sectors and total renewable freshwater resources, after taking into account environmental water requirements. Main sectors include agriculture, forestry and fishing, manufacturing, electricity industry, and services. This indicator is also known as water withdrawal intensity. |
| Relevance | The level of water stress can show the degree to which water resources are being exploited to meet the country's water demand. It measures a country's pressure on its water resources and therefore the challenge on the sustainability of its water use. It tracks progress regarding withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity, i.e. the environmental component of target 6.4. It also shows to what extent water resources are already used and signals the importance of effective supply and demand management policies. It indicates the likelihood of increasing competition and conflict between different water uses and users in a situation of increasing water scarcity. Increased water stress, shown by an increase in the value of the indicator, has potentially negative effects on the sustainability of natural resources and economic development. On the other hand, low values of water stress indicate that water does not represent a particular challenge for economic development and sustainability. |
| Time coverage | Annual |
| Sector coverage | Environmental |
| Data compilation | Water withdrawal as a percentage of water resources is a good indicator of pressure on limited water resources, one of the most important natural resources. However, it only partially addresses the issues related to sustainable water management. Supplementary indicators that capture the multiple dimensions of water management would combine data on water demand management, behavioral changes concerning water use, and the availability of appropriate infrastructure, and measure progress in increasing the efficiency and sustainability of water use, in particular in relation to population and economic growth. They would also recognize the different climatic environments that affect water use in countries, in particular in agriculture, which is the main user of water. Sustainability assessment is also linked to the critical thresholds fixed for this indicator and there is no universal consensus on such threshold. Trends in water withdrawal show relatively slow patterns of change. Usually, three to five years is a minimum frequency to be able to detect significant changes, as it is unlikely that the indicator would show meaningful variations from one year to the other. Estimation of water withdrawal by sector is the main limitation to the computation of the indicator. |
| Relationship* | 1 |
* This field expresses the impact on vulnerability. The minus sign indicates that it has a vulnerability-decreasing impact (positive impact on resilience), and the plus sign indicates a vulnerability-increasing impact.