Which country uses the most water?
Global water usage is driven by industrial and agricultural water use. While agricultural water use is the biggest water use category globally, industrial water use can be significant and varies greatly by country. The amount depends upon the volume of freshwater used to produce consumer goods like cars, plastic bottles and food. More industrialized countries use more water.
Global Water Usage: How do Countries Compare?
You can find your country’s water footprint – the amount of water different countries use – on the Water Footprint Network, which provides statistics for most countries’ virtual water imports and exports and for the total water footprint of national consumption.
This chart lists the total volume of freshwater consumed to produce common products like cars, t-shirts, plastic bottles and food – what’s also know as virtual water – on a per person basis for a variety of countries. The total volume of freshwater is a combination of the amount of water used domestically and the amount of water used internationally to manufacture those goods. The water footprints vary between countries because they’re based on consumption habits of people within each country, as well as that country’s climate and water-use practices.
Country | Water Usage (gallons/person/day) |
United Arab Emirates (UAE) | 2,270 |
United States of America (USA) | 2,200 |
Canada | 1,687 |
Israel | 1,687 |
Botswana | 1,485 |
Brazil | 1,466 |
Russian Federation | 1,341 |
Denmark | 1,183 |
Australia | 1,156 |
Germany | 1,032 |
Dominican Republic | 1,014 |
Global | 1,002 |
Colombia | 995 |
Egypt | 971 |
United Kingdom | 910 |
Republic of South Africa | 908 |
China | 775 |
Bangladesh | 557 |