Global Sub-National Water Consumption Estimates with Sectoral Breakdown

1,705.715 km3/yr is the multi-year average of global water consumption, with agricultural use accounting for 92.15%. The dataset, created by Xin Zhang and last updated in 2026, provides corrected and calculated water consumption coefficients for agricultural and industrial/municipal sectors at a sub-national level. It is based on existing sub-national water withdrawal data and incorporates a trapezoid model and socio-economic indicator trends.

Use Cases

• Modeling water resource restoration processes based on sectoral water consumption trends.
• Assessing water pressure and sustainability goals based on sub-national consumption data.
• Analyzing the role of industrial water consumption in achieving peak water use targets.
• Spatially quantifying agricultural water use efficiency based on utilization coefficients.

Strengths

• Provides a specific global multi-year average water consumption figure of 1,705.715 km3/yr.
• Offers a detailed sectoral breakdown, specifying agricultural water consumption accounts for 92.15%.
• Applies a methodological correction for industrial/municipal water consumption coefficients.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description suggests conclusions are difficult to unify due to methodological transformations.

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Based on existing sub-national water withdrawal data, spatially quantified using a trapezoid model and socio-economic indicator trends.

Time Range

Multi-year average, specific years not provided.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-25 01:13:16; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global, with continental breakdowns mentioned (Asia, Africa, others).