Open access sectoral water demand data for the African continent to help close water data gap
IWMI researchers found a 26% increase in water demand between 2010 and 2020, with the data set to benefit decision-making in water management throughout Africa.
- Datasets
- governance
- Policy coherence
- Water accounting
- Water and development
- Water demand
- Water footprint
Africa is a vast continent with heterogeneously spread water availability and rapidly changing water demands due to population increase, shifting lifestyles and growing economies. Sectoral water demand is the volume of water used by a sector to satisfy its needs, if sufficient water is available. Concurrently, water demands for the six sectors irrigation, livestock, drinking water, electricity, manufacturing industry and mining as well as for the environment need to be met.
A persistent lack of reliable water demand data for Africa limits informed management and policy decisions. To address this gap, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) collaborated with partners to provide a sectoral water demand database for researchers and stakeholders, which is published in Nature journal.