Climate & Land

Water Resources & Use in Africa

How much water African countries withdraw, how it is used across sectors, and how it compares to renewable freshwater resources.

Water demand versus renewable supply

This dashboard tracks freshwater withdrawals and renewable freshwater resources to highlight where African countries may be under pressure or still have buffer.

We combine total and per capita water withdrawals with estimates of renewable freshwater per person, and show how much of this demand is driven by agriculture, industry and municipal use. A simple pressure index (withdrawals / renewable) is displayed where both data series exist.

Dashboard Highlights

Data sources: World Bank and FAO water statistics as compiled by Our World in Data. Values are shown for African countries only.

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Countries with water data
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Latest withdrawals year
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Avg. pressure index (%)

Use the tabs below to explore the water stress map, country pathways, sector breakdowns and a downloadable water registry.

Loading water datasets...
Combining withdrawals, sectors and renewable resources...
Water Withdrawals per Capita (Latest year, African countries)
Map shading shows total freshwater withdrawals per person. Where available, the sidebar also shows a pressure index (withdrawals / renewable water per capita × 100).
Click a country for details
Select Country
Latest water year (withdrawals) --
Water pressure index --
Withdrawals per capita --
Renewable water per capita --
Total freshwater withdrawals --
Agricultural share --
Industrial share --
Municipal share (approx.) --
DATASET CURATED, VERIFIED & DESIGNED BY PaneoTech FOR CLIMATE WATCH AFRICA
Water Withdrawals vs Renewable Resources
Per capita freshwater withdrawals and renewable freshwater resources for the selected country.
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Latest pressure index (%)
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Latest withdrawals per capita
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Latest renewable per capita
DATASET CURATED, VERIFIED & DESIGNED BY PaneoTech FOR CLIMATE WATCH AFRICA
Agricultural Water Share (Latest, Africa)
Countries where agriculture dominates total freshwater withdrawals.
Top agricultural users
Industrial Water Share (Latest, Africa)
Countries where industry accounts for a large share of water withdrawals.
Top industrial users
Internal Renewable Freshwater Resources by Region
Long-term evolution of internal renewable freshwater resources, with Africa highlighted in regional context.
Regional renewable resources
DATASET CURATED, VERIFIED & DESIGNED BY PaneoTech FOR CLIMATE WATCH AFRICA
Country Latest withdrawals / capita Latest renewable / capita Water pressure index (%) Latest total withdrawals Agricultural share (%) Industrial share (%) Municipal share (%)
DATASET CURATED, VERIFIED & DESIGNED BY PaneoTech FOR CLIMATE WATCH AFRICA
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