Figure

Water exploitation index

Figure Created 01 Jan 2002 Published 01 Jan 2002 Last modified 15 Dec 2022

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Topics: Water and marine environment

Water exploitation index per country in %

https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/figures/water-exploitation-index/water_exploitation.eps/image_large

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Rights:: EEA standard re-use policy: unless otherwise indicated, re-use of content on the EEA website for commercial or non-commercial purposes is permitted free of charge, provided that the source is acknowledged (https://www.eea.europa.eu/legal/copyright). Copyright holder: European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal and Marine waters (ETC/ICM).
Owners:: European Topic Centre on Inland, Coastal and Marine waters (ETC/ICM)
Processors:: European Environment Agency (EEA)
Figure type:: Map

Additional information

The water exploitation index (WEI), or withdrawal ratio, is defined as the mean annual total demand for fresh water divided by the long-term average freshwater resource. A WEI of more than 20 % is indicative of a water-stressed area particularly during drought or low river flow periods (Figure 8.1.). Using the 20 % criterion, about 31 % of the European population lives in countries suffering from high water stress, and 71 % in countries where water abstraction is more than 10 % of renewable freshwater resources. Even if a country has sufficient water resources at the national level there may be problems in dry regions or around large cities.