Water is essential for all socio-economic development and for maintaining healthy ecosystems. As population increases and development calls for increased allocations of groundwater and surface water for the domestic, agriculture and industrial sectors, the pressure on water resources intensifies, leading to tensions, conflicts among users, and excessive pressure on the environment.
The process by which water continually changes its form and circulates between oceans, atmosphere and land is known as the water cycle. The earth is covered by three-fourth of water. 97.3% water is saline or salty in ocean and seas, 3% is fresh water that consisting ice-cape, ground water, fresh water lakes, inland and salt lakes.
Fresh water (or freshwater) is any naturally occurring water except seawater and brackish water. In other words, we can say water with less than 500 parts per million (ppm) of dissolved salts. Ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, icebergs, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater are the sources of freshwater.
Top 10 Countries with Freshwater Resources
The top Countries with Freshwater Resources are listed on the basis of the stats from the United Nations Environment Programme are given below:
1. Brazil
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 8,233
Brazil has highest freshwater resources in the world which is accounts for approximately 12% of the world’s freshwater resources. It is just because Amazon region this country contains 70% of the total freshwater.
2. Russia
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 4,508
Russia has second largest freshwater reserve which is approximately 1/5 of freshwater in the world.
3. United States of America
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 3,069
USA is the third country in the world which has largest freshwater reserve. There are more than 100 lakes; and Lake Superior, Lake Ontario, Lake Michigan, and Lake Erie are the major lakes.
4. Canada
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 2,902
This is the fourth country in the world which has largest freshwater reserve. Here, freshwater is found in its diverse river system and lakes. USA and Canada share borders with some of the largest freshwater lakes in North American continent and the world. Lake Superior, Lake Ontario, Great Bear Lake, Lake Huron, Lake Eerie and Lake Winnipeg are some of the freshwater lakes of Canada. In fact Canada has the largest number of lakes in the whole world standing at 879,800 lakes. The Great Bear Lake is the largest freshwater lake of Canada that is solely within Canada and not shared with USA.
5. China
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 2,840
This is the fifth country in the world which has largest freshwater reserve. Poyang Lake which is situated in Jiangxi Province is the largest freshwater lake in China.
6. Colombia
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 2,132
This is the sixth country in the world which has largest freshwater reserve.
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7. European Union
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 2,057
It hosted million kilometres of rivers and streams and more than a million lakes but unfortunately each waterbody has its own characteristics and specific environmental problems.
The current water situation in Europe, according to a European Commission brochure, is described as: 20% of all surface water in the EU is seriously threatened with pollution; Ground water supplies around 65% of all Europe’s drinking water; 60% of European cities overexploit their ground water resources; 50% of wetlands have “endangered status” due to ground water overexploitation; The area of irrigated land in southern Europe has increased by 20% since 1985.
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8. Indonesia
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 2,019
Although , it has one of the largest freshwater reserve but recently facing increasing freshwater supply problems, particularly on the islands of Java and Sumatera where the demand for freshwater is the highest. ... Freshwater consumption is dominated by the agricultural sector, which uses 98% of Indonesia's water resources.
9. Peru
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 1,913
Latin America plays a key role because it has the world’s largest supply of freshwater and Peru is the ninth country in the world which has largest freshwater reserve.
10. India
Freshwater (Cubic Kilometre): 1,911
India constituted 16 percent of the world’s population, has only 2.5 percent of the worlds land area and 4 percent of the world’s freshwater resources at its disposal.
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Top 10 Countries with Freshwater Resources
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