Visualizing the Global Population by Water Security Levels

Visualizing the Global Population by Water Security Levels

Most of the world’s population today lives in countries facing critical water security issues.

Dealing with issues such as declining freshwater availability, demand from growing populations, insufficient infrastructure, or flawed water governance can impact how easily a country’s population can access water. A combination of multiple factors quickly makes problems with water security a lived reality.

A recent Global Water Security Report by the United Nations University assessed the water security of different countries across the world.

Methodology

This study assesses water security in countries by examining 10 different underlying components, ranging from water quality and sanitation to availability, resource stability, and climate-related risks.

Each component is given a score out of 10, with a nation’s overall water security score calculated from the sum. Water security levels are assigned based on the overall scores:

• 75 and above is classified as “water secure”
• 65‒74 is classified as “moderately secure”
• 41‒64 indicates a country is “water insecure”
• 40 and below is considered “critically insecure”

Water Security Levels by Country

Water security remains a concern around the world, but is especially dire in regions like the Middle East and Africa, where 13 of the 23 nations in the critically insecure category are located.

In total, 113 countries are considered water insecure, including the world’s two most populated, India and China. An additional 24 countries are considered critically water insecure, with the largest by population including Pakistan and Ethiopia

Country	Water Security Score	Assessed Level
🇦🇫 Afghanistan	32	Critical
🇦🇱 Albania	60	Insecure
🇩🇿 Algeria	58	Insecure
🇦🇴 Angola	53	Insecure
🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda	56	Insecure
🇦🇷 Argentina	56	Insecure
🇦🇲 Armenia	60	Insecure
🇦🇺 Australia	78	Secure
🇦🇹 Austria	85	Secure
🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	60	Insecure
🇧🇸 Bahamas	48	Insecure
🇧🇭 Bahrain	67	Moderate
🇧🇩 Bangladesh	51	Insecure
🇧🇧 Barbados	44	Insecure
🇧🇾 Belarus	68	Moderate
🇧🇪 Belgium	71	Moderate
🇧🇿 Belize	54	Insecure
🇧🇯 Benin	47	Insecure
🇧🇹 Bhutan	56	Insecure
🇧🇴 Bolivia	55	Insecure
🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina	62	Insecure
🇧🇼 Botswana	55	Insecure
🇧🇷 Brazil	69	Moderate
🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam	52	Insecure
🇧🇬 Bulgaria	67	Moderate
🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	49	Insecure
🇧🇮 Burundi	45	Insecure
🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	54	Insecure
🇰🇭 Cambodia	46	Insecure
🇨🇲 Cameroon	47	Insecure
🇨🇦 Canada	75	Secure
🇨🇫 Central African Republic	43	Insecure
🇹🇩 Chad	39	Critical
🇨🇱 Chile	67	Moderate
🇨🇳 China	64	Insecure
🇨🇴 Colombia	62	Insecure
🇰🇲 Comoros	40	Critical
🇨🇬 Congo, Rep.	58	Insecure
🇨🇷 Costa Rica	69	Moderate
🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire	51	Insecure
🇭🇷 Croatia	75	Secure
🇨🇺 Cuba	56	Insecure
🇨🇾 Cyprus	80	Secure
🇨🇿 Czech Republic	75	Secure
🇰🇵 Democratic Republic of Korea	59	Insecure
🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo	50	Insecure
🇩🇰 Denmark	85	Secure
🇩🇯 Djibouti	32	Critical
🇩🇲 Dominica	41	Insecure
🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	46	Insecure
🇪🇨 Ecuador	61	Insecure
🇪🇬 Egypt	45	Insecure
🇸🇻 El Salvador	58	Insecure
🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	47	Insecure
🇪🇷 Eritrea	29	Critical
🇪🇪 Estonia	78	Secure
🇸🇿 Eswatini	41	Insecure
🇪🇹 Ethiopia	31	Critical
🇫🇯 Fiji	57	Insecure
🇫🇮 Finland	83	Secure
🇫🇷 France	81	Secure
🇬🇦 Gabon	52	Insecure
🇬🇲 Gambia	50	Insecure
🇬🇪 Georgia	63	Insecure
🇩🇪 Germany	79	Secure
🇬🇭 Ghana	52	Insecure
🇬🇷 Greece	80	Secure
🇬🇩 Grenada	48	Insecure
🇬🇹 Guatemala	55	Insecure
🇬🇳 Guinea	46	Insecure
🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	44	Insecure
🇬🇾 Guyana	44	Insecure
🇭🇹 Haiti	34	Critical
🇭🇳 Honduras	52	Insecure
🇭🇺 Hungary	75	Secure
🇮🇸 Iceland	83	Secure
🇮🇳 India	41	Insecure
🇮🇩 Indonesia	51	Insecure
🇮🇷 Iran, Islamic Rep.	48	Insecure
🇮🇶 Iraq	51	Insecure
🇮🇪 Ireland	82	Secure
🇮🇱 Israel	75	Secure
🇮🇹 Italy	78	Secure
🇯🇲 Jamaica	59	Insecure
🇯🇵 Japan	77	Secure
🇯🇴 Jordan	65	Moderate
🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	58	Insecure
🇰🇪 Kenya	46	Insecure
🇰🇼 Kuwait	75	Secure
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan	54	Insecure
🇱🇦 Lao PDR	56	Insecure
🇱🇻 Latvia	78	Secure
🇱🇧 Lebanon	59	Insecure
🇱🇸 Lesotho	54	Insecure
🇱🇷 Liberia	36	Critical
🇱🇾 Libya	37	Critical
🇱🇹 Lithuania	81	Secure
🇱🇺 Luxembourg	85	Secure
🇲🇬 Madagascar	37	Critical
🇲🇼 Malawi	47	Insecure
🇲🇾 Malaysia	75	Secure
🇲🇻 Maldives	49	Insecure
🇲🇱 Mali	43	Insecure
🇲🇹 Malta	62	Insecure
🇲🇷 Mauritania	41	Insecure
🇲🇺 Mauritius	43	Insecure
🇲🇽 Mexico	61	Insecure
🇫🇲 Micronesia	38	Critical
🇲🇳 Mongolia	60	Insecure
🇲🇪 Montenegro	51	Insecure
🇲🇦 Morocco	57	Insecure
🇲🇿 Mozambique	46	Insecure
🇲🇲 Myanmar	50	Insecure
🇳🇦 Namibia	51	Insecure
🇳🇵 Nepal	48	Insecure
🇳🇱 Netherlands	72	Moderate
🇳🇿 New Zealand	81	Secure
🇳🇮 Nicaragua	54	Insecure
🇳🇪 Niger	38	Critical
🇳🇬 Nigeria	57	Insecure
🇲🇰 North Macedonia	51	Insecure
🇳🇴 Norway	84	Secure
🇴🇲 Oman	55	Insecure
🇵🇰 Pakistan	37	Critical
🇵🇦 Panama	61	Insecure
🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	34	Critical
🇵🇾 Paraguay	63	Insecure
🇵🇪 Peru	55	Insecure
🇵🇭 Philippines	58	Insecure
🇵🇱 Poland	70	Moderate
🇵🇹 Portugal	75	Secure
🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	51	Insecure
🇶🇦 Qatar	73	Moderate
🇰🇷 Republic of Korea	70	Moderate
🇲🇩 Republic of Moldova	57	Insecure
🇷🇴 Romania	70	Moderate
🇷🇺 Russian Federation	73	Moderate
🇷🇼 Rwanda	46	Insecure
🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis	36	Critical
🇱🇨 Saint Lucia	46	Insecure
🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	42	Insecure
🇼🇸 Samoa	50	Insecure
🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe	50	Insecure
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	56	Insecure
🇸🇳 Senegal	49	Insecure
🇷🇸 Serbia	57	Insecure
🇸🇨 Seychelles	50	Insecure
🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	38	Critical
🇸🇬 Singapore	61	Insecure
🇸🇰 Slovakia	76	Secure
🇸🇮 Slovenia	76	Secure
🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	23	Critical
🇸🇴 Somalia	35	Critical
🇿🇦 South Africa	56	Insecure
🇸🇸 South Sudan	37	Critical
🇪🇸 Spain	77	Secure
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	40	Critical
🇵🇸 Palestine	51	Insecure
🇸🇩 Sudan	30	Critical
🇸🇷 Suriname	57	Insecure
🇸🇪 Sweden	90	Secure
🇨🇭 Switzerland	84	Secure
🇸🇾 Syria Arab Republic	42	Insecure
🇹🇯 Tajikistan	44	Insecure
🇹🇭 Thailand	53	Insecure
🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	42	Insecure
🇹🇬 Togo	49	Insecure
🇹🇴 Tonga	43	Insecure
🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	54	Insecure
🇹🇳 Tunisia	58	Insecure
🇹🇷 Türkiye	68	Moderate
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	49	Insecure
🇺🇬 Uganda	49	Insecure
🇺🇦 Ukraine	62	Insecure
🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates	66	Moderate
🇬🇧 United Kingdom	79	Secure
🇹🇿 United Republic of Tanzania	46	Insecure
🇺🇸 United States of America	80	Secure
🇺🇾 Uruguay	60	Insecure
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	46	Insecure
🇻🇺 Vanuatu	31	Critical
🇻🇪 Venezuela	56	Insecure
🇻🇳 Vietnam	48	Insecure
🇾🇪 Yemen	38	Critical
🇿🇲 Zambia	56	Insecure
🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	49	Insecure

Countries facing water security issues account for 72% of the world’s population, with an additional 8% of the global population facing critical water insecurity.

That includes 4.3 billion people in the Asia-Pacific region alone, and an additional 1.3 billion people across Africa. Many of these countries are grappling with issues including fast-growing populations and drought conditions faster than they can develop the necessary infrastructure to deal with them.

Only 12% of the world’s population lives in water-secure countries, including almost all Western countries, with Norway at the very top of the rankings at an overall score of 90. An additional 8% of the world lives in moderately secure countries such as Brazil and Russia.

However, water availability in these more secure countries is not perfect either. For example, U.S. states reliant on the Colorado River for irrigation and drinking water are facing continued drought conditions and limiting consumption, with further crisis on the horizon.

Towards a Water Secure Future

As nations around the world face increasing water-related challenges, governments and international agencies have been collaborating to foster sustainable water management practices. In fact, clean water and sanitation for all is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Many regions have already begun to implement these practices. For example, cities in California have begun recycling wastewater and capturing stormwater to deal with water scarcity. Farming-dependent regions are also looking to smart agriculture to reduce the drain on the limited freshwater resources.

Such initiatives to improve water irrigation systems, enhance water infrastructure, and conserve the depleting freshwater reserves may help elevate countries out of water insecurity and help preserve this precious resource for generations to come.