Water by the Numbers

Estimated number of people in 2003 who lacked access to sanitation:2.4 billionEstimated number of people in 2003 who depended on groundwater:2 billionProjected cost per year of providing worldwide water access by 2015:$30 billionNumber of countries that experienced serious water shortages by the mid-1990s:about 80 (comprising about 40% of the world’s population)Amount of bottled water produced in 2001:1.31 million liters, up from 1.2 million liters in 2000Group that consumed the most bottl


Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

Estimated number of people in 2003 who lacked access to sanitation:

2.4 billion

Estimated number of people in 2003 who depended on groundwater:

2 billion

Projected cost per year of providing worldwide water access by 2015:

$30 billion

Number of countries that experienced serious water shortages by the mid-1990s:

about 80 (comprising about 40% of the world’s population)

Amount of bottled water produced in 2001:

1.31 million liters, up from 1.2 million liters in 2000

Group that consumed the most bottled water in 2001:

Western Europeans, at 97 liters per capita, up from 93 liters in 2000

Groups that consumed the least:

Africans and those in the Middle East, 9 liters per capita, for both 2000 and 2001

Source: International Council of Bottled Water Associations and http://www.cbc.ca/news/features/water/statistics.html

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to digital editions of The Scientist, as well as TS Digest, feature stories, more than 35 years of archives, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
May digest 2025 cover
May 2025, Issue 1

Study Confirms Safety of Genetically Modified T Cells

A long-term study of nearly 800 patients demonstrated a strong safety profile for T cells engineered with viral vectors.

View this Issue
iStock

TaqMan Probe & Assays: Unveil What's Possible Together

Thermo Fisher Logo
Meet Aunty and Tackle Protein Stability Questions in Research and Development

Meet Aunty and Tackle Protein Stability Questions in Research and Development

Unchained Labs
Detecting Residual Cell Line-Derived DNA with Droplet Digital PCR

Detecting Residual Cell Line-Derived DNA with Droplet Digital PCR

Bio-Rad
How technology makes PCR instruments easier to use.

Making Real-Time PCR More Straightforward

Thermo Fisher Logo

Products

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Biotium Launches New Phalloidin Conjugates with Extended F-actin Staining Stability for Greater Imaging Flexibility

Leica Microsystems Logo

Latest AI software simplifies image analysis and speeds up insights for scientists

BioSkryb Genomics Logo

BioSkryb Genomics and Tecan introduce a single-cell multiomics workflow for sequencing-ready libraries in under ten hours

iStock

Agilent BioTek Cytation C10 Confocal Imaging Reader

agilent technologies logo