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updated: 17 September, 2007
pattern
Water statistics

Almost 70 per cent of all available freshwater is used for agriculture. Overpumping of groundwater by the world's farmers exceeds natural replenishment by at least 160 billion cubic metres a year. It takes an enourmous amount of water to produce crops: one to three cubic metres to yield just one kilo of rice, and 1,000 tons of water to produce just one ton of grain.

Land in agricultural use has increased by 12 per cent since the 1960s to about 1.5 billion hectares. Current global water withdrawals for irrigation are estimated at about 2,000 to 2,555 km³ per year. Pasture and crops take up 37 per cent of the Earth's land area.

Poor drainage and irrigation practices have led to saline build-up in about 30 million hectares of the world's 240 million hectares of irrigated land, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). A combination of salinization and waterlogging affects another 80 million hectares.


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AQUASTAT

Asian Development Bank (ADB)
Country water sector information

EuroStat database

Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (WHO & UNICEF)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  (OECD)
Aid for water supply and sanitation (February 2003)

The World's Water
Populations without Access to Drinking Water

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO)
Facts and figures

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
Access to water

WaterWeb Consortium
Database links

World Resources Institute