The line graph illustrates global water usage in agriculture, industry, and domestic sectors from 1900 to 2000, while the table compares population, irrigated land, and per capita water consumption in Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Overall, agriculture accounted for the largest share of water use throughout the period, rising steadily to around 3,000 km³ by 2000. In contrast, industrial and domestic usage remained low until the 1960s before increasing significantly. Brazil far exceeded the Democratic Republic of Congo in population, irrigated land, and per capita water use.
Agriculture started at approximately 500 km³ in 1900 and climbed gradually to dominate at nearly 3,000 km³ by 2000. Industrial use stayed flat at around 300 km³ for the first 60 years, then surged to 1,200 km³, while domestic consumption followed a similar pattern, reaching 500 km³.
Brazil had a population of 176 million and 26,500 km² of irrigated land, leading to 359 m³ of water used per person. The Democratic Republic of Congo, with just 5.2 million people, had only 100 km² of irrigated land and 8 m³ per capita consumption.