Top 10 Countries with Highest Water Usage Per Capita

Water is an important and indispensable natural resource, but within different areas of the world usage of this resource differs due to varying geography, economic development, and popuation demographics.

Some countries consume more freshwater on average due to a larger agricultural sector, higher industrial activity levels, and the amount of irrigated land in use. In this article, we will take a look at the Top 10 countries that use the greatest amount of water per capita based upon data collected by the World Bank. 

The numbers are calculated by taking the total amount of freshwater withdrawn from each country and dividing this by the population for each respective country. This will give us some insight into how different nations use water resources through their everyday life, farming activities and industries throughout the world.

Top 10 Countries with Highest Water Use Per Capita 

Here is the list of the top 10 countries with highest water use per capita: 

1. Turkmenistan 

Turkmenistan is number one globally with a massive 128,228 cubic feet of water use per person.Turkmenistan’s huge figure is primarily driven by their significant use of water for cotton irrigation using large-scale irrigation systems in dry climates. 

The huge amount of water being taken from the major rivers in Turkmenistan through the older Soviet Era canal systems has made agriculture use an enormous amount of water compared with other uses and the higher amount of water used for agriculture compared with other uses has resulted in an extreme amount of stress on the environment in that region.

2. Montenegro 

Montenegro ranks 2nd with 125,155 cubic feet per capita being withdrawn from their waters. Although Montenegro has a small population size, the total volume of water withdrawn from all the different sectors is very high relative to the population size. The high amounts of water being extracted from the ground account for the high amount of water withdrawn per person when you compare them to countries across the globe.

 The total volume of water being withdrawn each year is being driven by the demand for hydropower, the demand for industrial expansion, and the uneven distribution of water across the many different sectors.

3. New Zealand 

New Zealand ranks 3rd with a total of 68,652 cubic feet of water use per person. The majority of water use in New Zealand is for agricultural purposes because of the very large dairy and livestock sectors. 

The other reason for the high volume of water being withdrawn from freshwater sources is that New Zealand has a relatively abundant number of sources of freshwater that can be used for irrigation purposes or as an industrial source of water, which results in very high total volumes of water being withdrawn, even though their population size is relatively low.

4. Guyana 

Guyana ranks 4th with a total of 61,907 cubic feet of water use per person. Guyana primarily relies on their limited resources of freshwater for agriculture and producing rice and other crops. 

With very little other industries to utilize water, and a small amount of population size, the total amount of water being used by the agriculture industry significantly increases the amount of water each person utilizes from their limited resources of freshwater.

5. United States

The U.S., as measured in 46,969 ft³ per capita, is a significant user of water. This is primarily due to its use in agriculture, energy generation and industrial cooling. In particular, large-scale irrigation and power generation in western states are major contributors to the high water use, making the U.S. one of the world's leading water users, despite its considerable efficiency in water use.

6. Uruguay

Uruguay matches the U.S. in terms of overall water use at 46,969 ft³ per capita. Water is used extensively in agriculture and livestock production, mostly for the production of beef and milk. In addition, since the population of Uruguay is relatively small, the level of water use per capita is higher.

7. Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, the amount of water used annually per person is 45,379 ft³. The majority of that water is used for agricultural purposes, mainly from irrigation, and also by various industries. Water from the production of energy also contributes to the high volume of water per capita, this shows how much industry and agriculture together form a large part of Azerbaijan's economy and how dependent they are on industries that use natural resources in Azerbaijan.

8. Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, with an estimate of 44,002 cubic feet, uses more than the average water per person through its extensive farming practices, mainly in cotton and grain production, as a result of its size and relatively low growth rate of its population compared to the size of the area. In addition, there are challenges with distribution of this water in Kazakhstan that also add to inefficiencies in the way that these waters are used by the population.

9. Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan has estimated usage of 43,366 cubic feet per person largely driven by the cotton industry. Extensive irrigation systems are responsible for a significant diversion of water from rivers, particularly in the drier regions of the country, adding to the historical environmental issues in the region that affected the Aral Sea.

10. North Macedonia

With an estimated use of 41,848 cubic feet of water per person, North Macedonia primarily uses water for farming, producing energy, and providing municipal services. These three uses have very low populations compared to the size of the region. Furthermore, farming and infrastructure within the region have contributed significantly to high usage rates of freshwater being removed from the water supply.

Conclusion

Countries use varying amounts of water for an individual basis, this variability is caused primarily by agriculture, industrial use, and population sizes of individual nations. Water demand and water management are significant factors in determining how much freshwater different parts of the world consume.