Water treatment spans drinking-water access, wastewater processing, industrial withdrawals, household supply, and reclaimed-water use. The statistics below separate these measures by population, geography, period, and definition so that service coverage is not confused with treatment throughput.
Key Water Treatment Industry Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2022, 6.0 billion people worldwide used safely managed drinking-water services.
- In 2022, 2.2 billion people worldwide lacked safely managed drinking water, equal to 27% of the global population.
- In 2022, 99% of the world population had at least basic drinking-water services in the JMP table covering 207 reporting countries and areas.
- In 2022, 51% of the world population had safely managed drinking water in the JMP estimate based on 142 reporting countries and areas.
- In 2022, 76% of total wastewater received some level of treatment across 73 reporting countries representing 42% of the global population.
- In 2022, 60% of total wastewater was safely treated across 42 reporting countries representing 12% of the global population.
- In 2022, 59% of the global population had wastewater treated in the JMP table based on 111 reporting countries and areas.
- U.S. water use was estimated at 322 billion gallons per day from all sources in 2015.
- U.S. freshwater withdrawals were 281 billion gallons per day in 2015, or 87% of total withdrawals.
- U.S. public-supply withdrawals were 39.0 billion gallons per day in 2015.
- About 283 million people in the United States received potable water from public-supply facilities in 2015, approximately 87% of the population.
- In 2015, 88% of U.S. domestic water use came from public suppliers, totaling 23,300 million gallons per day.
- Thermoelectric power, irrigation, and public supply accounted for 90% of U.S. withdrawals in 2015.
- Safely managed drinking-water coverage was 79% in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2022, based on 20 reporting countries and areas.
- Safely managed drinking-water coverage was 16% in Oceania in 2022, based on 12 reporting countries and areas.
- Safely managed drinking-water coverage was 93% in high-income countries in 2022, based on 56 reporting countries and areas.
- Across the conterminous United States, average public-supply withdrawals were 35,440 million gallons per day during water years 2010–20.
- Reported reclaimed wastewater use for U.S. thermoelectric cooling totaled 203 million gallons per day across 25 states in 2015.
Contents
- Global drinking-water service coverage
- Wastewater treatment statistics and safe-treatment trends
- U.S. water treatment scale and public supply
- Water treatment data by source and sector
- Regional and income-group drinking-water statistics
- Water reuse and treatment-system performance
Global Drinking-Water Service Coverage Statistics
The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) defines safely managed drinking water as an improved source on premises, available when needed, and free from contamination. That service-level definition is broader than access to a treatment plant, because it combines location, reliability, and quality.
In 2022, 6.0 billion people used safely managed drinking-water services worldwide, while 2.2 billion people lacked that level of service, equal to 27% of the global population. The WHO monitoring estimates identify these as global population estimates for 2022, not facility counts. Water, sanitation and health monitoring and evidence
The JMP 2022 table gives a broader service ladder. It reports 1.5 billion people using basic drinking-water services, 292 million using limited services, 296 million using unimproved sources, and 115 million using surface water.
| 2022 global drinking-water measure | Result | Reporting scope |
|---|---|---|
| At least basic drinking-water services | 99% | 207 countries and areas |
| Safely managed drinking water | 51% | 142 countries and areas |
| Available when needed | 86% | 139 countries and areas |
| Free from contamination | 51% | 142 countries and areas |
These indicators should not be read as interchangeable. The JMP table reports each component separately, and the safely managed estimate is limited to countries and areas with sufficient data. Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000–2022: special focus on gender
Wastewater Treatment Statistics and Safe-Treatment Trends
Wastewater figures depend heavily on the reporting universe and on whether the measure covers household sanitation chains or total wastewater flows. UN-Water counted 107 countries providing some wastewater statistics for 2022, representing 73% of the world population, but the calculable subsets were smaller.
- Total wastewater treatment shares could be calculated for 73 of the 107 reporting countries.
- Those 73 countries represented 42% of the global population for the total-treatment calculation.
- Safely treated wastewater shares could be calculated for 42 countries.
- Those 42 countries represented 12% of the global population.
Where it could be calculated, 76% of total wastewater received some level of treatment across 73 countries. The safely treated share was 60% across 42 countries, where safe treatment means at least secondary treatment; because the population coverage was only 12%, the result should not be generalized as a global rate. Progress on Wastewater Treatment – 2024 Update
The JMP 2022 table provides related but different sanitation-chain indicators. It estimates that 59% of the global population had wastewater treated, based on 111 reporting countries and areas, while 85% had excreta emptied and treated, based on 137 reporting countries and areas.
In the same table, 86% of the world population used at least basic sanitation services, based on 198 reporting countries and areas. Basic sanitation does not imply that wastewater received secondary treatment, so this measure should remain separate from UN-Water’s total-flow estimate. Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000–2022: special focus on gender
U.S. Water Treatment Scale and Public-Supply Statistics
USGS water-use estimates describe withdrawals and use categories across the United States, not only treated water or treatment-plant throughput. In 2015, total U.S. water use was estimated at 322 billion gallons per day from all sources, 9% lower than in 2010.
Freshwater withdrawals were 281 billion gallons per day in 2015, or 87% of total withdrawals, while saline-water withdrawals were 41.0 billion gallons per day, or 13%. Public-supply withdrawals were 39.0 billion gallons per day.
About 283 million people received potable water from U.S. public-supply facilities in 2015, approximately 87% of the population. The U.S. population rose from 312.6 million in 2010 to 325.0 million in 2015, a 4% increase, which provides context for comparing water-use changes.
| U.S. public and domestic measure | 2015 result | Comparison or scope |
|---|---|---|
| Public-supply withdrawals | 39.0 billion gallons/day | Down 7% from 2010 |
| Population served potable water by public supply | About 283 million people | Approximately 87% of population |
| Domestic use from public suppliers | 23,300 million gallons/day | 88% of domestic water use |
| Self-supplied domestic withdrawals | 3.26 billion gallons/day | 8% below 2010 |
In 2015, more than 98% of self-supplied domestic withdrawals came from groundwater. That source share does not show whether households treated the water, and self-supplied users are not necessarily connected to public treatment systems. Estimated use of water in the United States in 2015
Water Treatment Data by Source and Sector
Water demand outside public supply is important context for the treatment industry, but industrial, agricultural, power, and livestock withdrawals are not equivalent to potable treatment output. In 2015, thermoelectric power withdrawals were 133 billion gallons per day, or 41% of all U.S. withdrawals, while irrigation withdrawals were 118 billion gallons per day.
Thermoelectric power, irrigation, and public supply together accounted for 90% of U.S. withdrawals. The 12 highest-withdrawal states accounted for more than 50% of total withdrawals, and California alone accounted for almost 9%, predominantly for irrigation.
- Self-supplied industrial withdrawals were 14.8 billion gallons per day in 2015, down 9% from 2010, and surface water supplied 82% of that volume.
- Aquaculture withdrawals were 7.55 billion gallons per day in 2015, down 16% from 2010.
- Mining withdrawals were 4.00 billion gallons per day in 2015, up 1% from 2010.
- Livestock withdrawals were 2.00 billion gallons per day in 2015, unchanged from 2010.
The thermoelectric figures also show why withdrawal volume and treatment performance must be distinguished. Once-through cooling accounted for 96% of thermoelectric withdrawals and 37% of net power generated in 2015, while recirculating systems accounted for 4% of withdrawals and 63% of net generation. Estimated use of water in the United States in 2015
Regional and Income-Group Drinking-Water Statistics
JMP regional and income-group figures are 2022 service-level estimates, with reporting-country coverage that varies by indicator. The urban and rural comparisons also should not be treated as a causal comparison because the underlying reporting-country counts differ.
| Geography or group | Safely managed drinking water, 2022 | Reporting scope |
|---|---|---|
| Europe and Northern America | 100% | 46 countries and areas |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 79% | 20 countries and areas |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 64% | 22 countries and areas |
| Northern Africa and Western Asia | 36% | 16 countries and areas |
| Eastern and South-Eastern Asia | 35% | 14 countries and areas |
| Central and Southern Asia | 31% | 11 countries and areas |
| Oceania | 16% | 12 countries and areas |
By income group, safely managed drinking-water coverage was 93% in high-income countries based on 56 reporting countries and areas, compared with 59% in low-income countries based on 13 reporting countries and areas. These are service-level statistics, not direct measures of treatment technology or spending.
The JMP table reported safely managed coverage of 63% in urban areas and 64% in rural areas in 2022. Drinking water was available when needed for 76% of the urban population and 91% of the rural population in the table; because reporting coverage differs, these figures should not be interpreted as a simple global urban-rural performance ranking. Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000–2022: special focus on gender
Water Reuse and Treatment-System Performance Data
USGS modeled averages for the conterminous United States during water years 2010–20 provide a longer-period view of withdrawals and consumptive use. These are water-use estimates, not plant-level treatment-efficiency measurements.
| Conterminous-U.S. category | Average withdrawals | Average consumptive use |
|---|---|---|
| Public supply | 35,440 million gallons/day | 4,219 million gallons/day |
| Crop irrigation | 105,497 million gallons/day | 75,698 million gallons/day |
| Freshwater thermoelectric power | 82,656 million gallons/day | 2,904 million gallons/day |
Combined average freshwater withdrawals for crop irrigation, public supply, and thermoelectric power were 223,594 million gallons per day during water years 2010–20. Including saline water, the corresponding modeled withdrawals were 244,817 million gallons per day. Water use across the conterminous United States, water years 2010–20
Reclaimed-water use was reported separately for thermoelectric cooling. In 2015, reported reclaimed wastewater use totaled 203 million gallons per day across 25 U.S. states, and Arizona reported 67.7 million gallons per day, the largest state value in the USGS compilation.
Recirculating-cooling plants accounted for 95% of reported reclaimed-wastewater uses at U.S. thermoelectric facilities in 2015. Reporting was not required for every instance, so USGS warned that the national total may underestimate all reclaimed-wastewater use; these figures should not be read as a complete national reuse inventory. Estimated use of water in the United States in 2015