Water Resources Vulnerability
WorldPhysical EnvironmentSocial / HealthEconomicMeasure of projected water stress in the year 2020; water stress is the ratio of total annual water withdrawals to total available annual renewable supply.
World Resources InstituteA world map shows water resources vulnerability.
Areas shaded in light yellow represent regions with arid and low water use, predominantly found in parts of Australia (central regions), Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Mauritania, and Yemen. Regions with low vulnerability, less than 10 percent, are shown in light orange and are primarily located in most parts of Africa, South America, Canada, Russia, most of Asia. Areas with low-medium vulnerability, ranging from 10 to 20 percent, are depicted in orange and are scattered throughout some parts of Japan and U S A, some parts of Asia and Europe. Medium-high vulnerability areas, between 20 to 40 percent, are shown in light red and are mainly found in South Africa, China, and many more. High vulnerability regions, ranging from 40 to 80 percent, are shaded in red and are located in parts of U S A, Europe, and Asia. Areas with extremely high vulnerability, over 80 percent, are shown in dark red and include most of U S A and Asia. Some areas such as Greenland and South Pole are marked with a gray shade, indicating no data available for those regions.