3.2. Level of water stress – a global problem regionally differentiated
extreme water stress (Northern Africa). Western Asia has medium water stress and Eastern Asia low water stress. The rest of the regions and subregions, and the areas where most of the global population live, have maintained low or
As previously explained, by using the available
no stress levels, but analysis of water stress at
water data in the AQUASTAT database and the
country or major basin level reveals significant
EFR values provided by each country or by the
variations, as described in the next section.
IWMI and FAO by default calculation per country, and also by using the disaggregation by major
As previously explained, data prior to 2015
basin methodology, the results for water stress
were available for the variables that comprise
percentages can be obtained for each country,
indicator 6.4.2, and therefore they have been
and as Figure 2 shows for each river basin.
included in its computation. Looking at how the water stress value has evolved from 2008
At the global level, 18.4 percent of available
to 2018 at the regional and subregional levels
TRWR are being withdrawn. At first glance,
(figure 4), a moderate to large percentage
this figure may seem safe, but it hides large
increase can be observed in South-Eastern Asia,
regional, national and subnational variations that
Latin America and the Caribbean, sub-Saharan
need to be addressed to provide more focused
Africa, Oceania and Northern Africa and slower
information and support, and to facilitate policy
growth in Eastern, Western and Central Asia.
identification and implementation. Figure 2
Between 2008 and 2018, three subregions
shows the evolution of the global water stress
(Southern Asia, Europe and Northern America)
levels. It is worth noting that in the previous
reduced their water stress level.
baseline report (FAO, 2018), water stress values for 2015 were different, at almost 13 percent,
The drivers of this trend in these regions,
whereas in this report, the global water stress
besides the potential impact of aridity (see
value for 2015 increases to 18.1 percent. This
Figure 5), need to be carefully examined at a
difference is mainly the result of improvements
disaggregated level to reverse the effects that
made to the EFR assessment methodology
a positive increase in the water stress level can
since 2015, resulting in higher values for most
have on food security and nutrition and to take
countries.
action towards increasing and protecting the resilience of livelihoods and ecosystems while
In 2018, three out of seven SDG regions have
fostering sustainable and inclusive agricultural
water stress values above 25 percent (Figure
and industrial production and adaptation to
3), including two subregions with high water
climate change.
stress (Central and Southern Asia) and one with
17 PROGRESS ON LEVEL OF WATER STRESS - 2021
