The water crisis “is set to worsen despite continuing debate over the very existence of such a crisis”, says the report. About 2 million tons of waste are dumped every day into rivers, lakes and streams. One litre of wastewater pollutes about eight litres of freshwater. According to calculations in the report, there is an estimated 12,000 km³ of polluted water worldwide, which is more than the total amount contained in the world’s 10 largest river basins at any given moment. If pollution keeps pace with population growth, therefore, the world will effectively lose 18,000 km³ of freshwater by 2050 – almost nine times the total amount countries currently use each year for irrigation, which is by far the largest consumer of the resource. Irrigation currently accounts for 70 per cent of all water withdrawals worldwide.

The report ranks 122 countries according to the quality of their water, as well as their ability and commitment to improve the situation. Belgium is considered the worst basically because of the low quantity and quality of its groundwater, combined with heavy industrial pollution and poor treatment of wastewater. It is followed by Morocco, India, Jordan, Sudan, Niger, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic and Rwanda.

The list of countries with the best quality is headed by Finland, followed by Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Japan, Norway, Russian Federation, Republic of Korea, Sweden and France.