A huge 80% of people living under water stress live in Asia — in particular, northeast China, as well as India and Pakistan — says the UN World Water Development Report 2023, released on March 22. According to the report published by UNESCO, about 6% of GDP would be lost in some countries by 2050 due to water scarcity —- spurring migration and conflict.
That said, the report added, the percentage of the world population using safely managed drinking water services increased from 70% to 74%, but differences between and also within the regions are considerable.
Similar statistics are available for sanitation services: Use of safely managed sanitation services increased from 47% to 53% of the world population during 2015–2020. By 2020, the report mentions, 71% of the world population had basic hand-washing facilities with soap and water available at home. The latter facilities have gained importance since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
