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


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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

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