Synopsis

Decision-makers need future projections on water supply and demand. However, most of these decision-makers operate at the administrative or political scales, and therefore require country-level projections.

This technical note utilized a spatial aggregation methodology to bring sub-catchment scale Aqueduct Water Stress Projections up to the country scale, fulfilling this need. Projected scores are included for 167 countries under the business-as-usual, pessimistic, and optimistic scenarios for the years 2020, 2030, and 2040. Scores are available for overall stress levels as well as stress levels for industrial, agricultural, and domestic users.

View the related data set.

Key Findings

  • The top 11 water-stressed countries in 2040, each considered extremely highly stressed with a score of 5.0 out of 5.0, are projected to be Bahrain, Kuwait, Palestine, Qatar, San Marino, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Lebanon

  • Chile, Estonia, Namibia, and Botswana could experience an especially significant increase in water stress by 2040