New report links poor land and water management to accelerating freshwater loss.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2025- The world is losing 324 billion cubic meters of freshwater every year, enough to meet the needs of 280 million people annually, according to the first edition of the Global Water Monitoring Report released today by the World Bank. These losses are driven by worsening droughts and unsustainable land and water practices, including poor pricing policies, weak coordination, deforestation, wetland degradation, and excessive irrigation.
The report, Continental Drying: A Threat to Our Common Future, provides the most detailed picture yet of global freshwater decline, and offers a roadmap for reversing the trend through smarter policy and investment.
"The trend of continental drying is sobering, but the analysis also points to solutions," said Axel van Trotsenburg, Senior Managing Director, World Bank. "With the right policies and investments, countries can turn the tide by managing water as the precious resource it is. This is smart development - and essential for building a livable planet."
Drawing on two decades of satellite data enhanced through new modeling techniques, the report provides an unprecedented view of how land and water management decisions are shaping water availability. For the first time, leaders can see where water loss is happening- at national and county levels-and therefore identify where action is most urgently needed.
By combining water availability and agricultural water demand data, the report identifies vulnerability hot spots and priority regions for policy interventions. Global water use has risen 25% since 2000, with a third of that increase in areas already drying out. This includes areas already facing freshwater scarcity such as Central America, a large swath of Eastern Europe, and northern India. However, water stress is also emerging in historically water-abundant regions undergoing rapid agricultural, industrial, and urban growth, such as southeastern Brazil.
The strain on jobs, incomes, and ecosystems is most acute in vulnerable regions. In Sub-Saharan Africa, droughts leave 600,000 to 900,000 people without jobs each year, disproportionately affecting women, older individuals, landless farmers, and low-skilled workers.
The past two decades have seen a global shift toward the cultivation of more water-intensive crops. Among drying countries, 37 have transitioned to more water-intensive agriculture, including 22 located in arid and semi-arid regions. This structural shift, coupled with inefficiency, further intensifies water demand in already water-stressed countries. More than two-thirds of the inefficient irrigation in drying areas is linked to the cultivation of water-intensive crops, such as rice, wheat, cotton, maize, or sugar cane. This underscores the need for smarter crop choices and incentives that align agricultural practices with water sustainability.
Virtual water trade, which can provide a way for water-scarce countries to import water intensive goods like crops and industrial products, can help reduce global water use. Since 2010, virtual water trade has saved 475 billion cubic meters of water each year or almost 10% of total global water consumption. However, the report finds that many water-scarce countries are exporting products that are water intensive, highlighting the need to align trade policies with water sustainability goals.
"Continental drying is not inevitable," said Fan Zhang, lead author of the Global Water Monitoring Report. "By managing demand, expanding supply, and allocating water more fairly and efficiently, countries can stabilize water systems and secure their future. The data show that solutions exist; what's needed now is coordination, investment, and resolve."
The report calls for a three-part strategy to address the crisis:
- Manage water demand more efficiently through technologies, regulations, and public awareness
- Expand alternative water supply via recycling, desalination, and improved storage
- Ensure fair and effective water allocation across sectors and regions.
