Freshwater withdrawal as a share of available renewable resources, tracked annually from 2000 to 2023.
SDG indicator 6.4.2, the ratio of freshwater withdrawn to available renewable freshwater resources after environmental flow requirements. Values above 100% indicate withdrawal exceeding renewable supply, sustained by aquifer depletion or desalination. Source: FAO AQUASTAT, via the UN SDG Global Database. National figures average across a country, so they can understate severe scarcity within particular basins or regions.
SDG indicator 6.4.2 expresses total freshwater withdrawn by all sectors as a percentage of total renewable freshwater resources, after subtracting environmental flow requirements — the water that must remain in rivers and aquifers to sustain ecosystems.
Values above 100% mean a country withdraws more than its renewable supply can replace. That deficit is met by depleting fossil groundwater, by desalination, or by drawing on transboundary rivers. None of the three is indefinitely sustainable, and the first is not reversible on any human timescale.
The standard thresholds are: under 25% no stress, 25–50% low, 50–75% medium, 75–100% high, and above 100% critical.
National averages conceal severe local scarcity. Morocco’s national figure of 18.8% places it below the stress threshold, yet several of its basins face acute shortage. Aggregation to the country level is the indicator’s most significant limitation.
Some very high figures reflect desalination, not depletion. The Gulf states show extreme values because withdrawal is measured against natural renewable supply while much of their water comes from desalination. The number is accurate but describes something other than aquifer collapse.
Trajectory matters more than level. Use the year buttons to see direction. Morocco has moved from 60.5% in 2000 to 18.8% in 2023, largely through improved accounting and efficiency. Algeria has moved the other way, from 85.8% to 144.8%.
Northern Africa exceeds 100% as a region. The only major world region in that position.
Water stress features directly in my work on food security and resource management in North Africa:
Data from FAO AQUASTAT via the UN SDG Global Database.