The provided charts elucidate the global distribution of water utilization across various sectors, while concurrently offering a comparative analysis of water consumption in Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Overall, agriculture accounts for the predominant share of global water usage, with industrial and domestic sectors following suit. Additionally, a marked disparity in water consumption per capita is evident between Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The graph titled ‘Global water use by sector’ illustrates a progressive increase in water usage from 1900 to 2000, highlighting agriculture as the principal consumer of water resources. Specifically, in the year 2000, agricultural water consumption constituted approximately 70% of the total global use, reflecting its critical role in sustaining food production. In contrast, industrial and domestic usage accounted for significantly lower percentages, with industry utilizing around 20% and domestic needs representing a mere 10%. This trend underscores the essential reliance on irrigation in agricultural practices globally.
The accompanying table, ‘Water consumption in Brazil and Congo in 2000,’ presents a stark comparison between the two nations’ water use patterns. Brazil, with a population of 176 million and an extensive area of irrigated land amounting to 26,500 km², exhibited a per capita water consumption of 359 m³. In juxtaposition, the Democratic Republic of Congo, having a substantially smaller population of 5.2 million and only 100 km² of irrigated land, reported an extremely low per capita water consumption of just 8 m³. This data highlights the pronounced disparity in water resource management and consumption efficiency between the two countries.