Which country in Asia has the most water stress?

Kuwait has the most water stress in Asia: 3,850.5% of its available fresh water (2022). Next come the United Arab Emirates (1,509.9% of its available fresh water) and Saudi Arabia (974.2% of its available fresh water).

Which country in Asia has the least water stress?

Cambodia, with 1.0% of its available fresh water (2022).

What is the typical water stress of a country in Asia?

The median of the 47 countries in Asia is 50.0% of its available fresh water: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.

Where do the figures come from?

Fresh water taken for farms, industry and homes, as a share of the fresh water available after nature’s own needs. Past 100%, a country draws down groundwater or desalinates. Source: World Bank, mostly 2022. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Countries in Asia by water stress

Fresh water taken for farms, industry and homes, as a share of the fresh water available after nature’s own needs. Past 100%, a country draws down groundwater or desalinates. 47 countries in Asia, highest first. World Bank, mostly 2022

See it on the map

Map: Water stress — Asia — **1.8%4.3%**8%**14%33%68%**No data

Highest

3,850.5%

Kuwait

Median country

50.0%

half above, half below

Lowest

1.0%

Cambodia

Countries in Asia by water stress, World Bank, mostly 2022
#	Country	% of available water	Year	Region
1	Kuwait	3,850.5%	2022	Western Asia
2	United Arab Emirates	1,509.9%	2022	Western Asia
3	Saudi Arabia	974.2%	2022	Western Asia
4	Qatar	431.0%	2022	Western Asia
5	Yemen	169.8%	2022	Western Asia
6	Turkmenistan	135.2%	2022	Central Asia
7	Bahrain	133.7%	2022	Western Asia
8	Israel	132.0%	2021	Western Asia
9	Syria	124.4%	2022	Western Asia
10	Uzbekistan	123.0%	2022	Central Asia
11	Oman	116.7%	2022	Western Asia
12	Pakistan	110.0%	2022	Southern Asia
13	Jordan	105.2%	2022	Western Asia
14	Sri Lanka	90.8%	2022	Southern Asia
15	South Korea	85.2%	2022	Eastern Asia
16	Iran	81.3%	2022	Southern Asia
17	Tajikistan	69.9%	2022	Central Asia
18	India	66.5%	2022	Southern Asia
19	Armenia	62.0%	2022	Western Asia
20	Iraq	59.6%	2022	Western Asia
21	Lebanon	58.8%	2022	Western Asia
22	Azerbaijan	57.5%	2022	Western Asia
23	Afghanistan	54.8%	2022	Southern Asia
24	Kyrgyzstan	50.0%	2022	Central Asia
25	Turkey	47.9%	2022	Western Asia
26	China	41.5%	2022	Eastern Asia
27	Japan	36.6%	2022	Eastern Asia
28	Kazakhstan	34.6%	2022	Central Asia
29	Singapore	33.3%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
30	Cyprus	30.5%	2022	Western Asia
31	Indonesia	29.7%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
32	Timor-Leste	28.3%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
33	Philippines	27.8%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
34	North Korea	27.7%	2022	Eastern Asia
35	Thailand	23.0%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
36	Vietnam	18.1%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
37	Maldives	15.7%	2022	Southern Asia
38	Nepal	8.3%	2022	Southern Asia
39	Myanmar	5.8%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
40	Bangladesh	5.7%	2022	Southern Asia
41	Laos	4.8%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
42	Georgia	4.2%	2022	Western Asia
43	Brunei	3.5%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
=44	Malaysia	3.4%	2022	South-Eastern Asia
=44	Mongolia	3.4%	2022	Eastern Asia
46	Bhutan	1.4%	2022	Southern Asia
47	Cambodia	1.0%	2022	South-Eastern Asia

No World Bank figure for Taiwan.

Territories and other places

Not ranked: dependencies of the states above, places whose status is disputed. Highest first.

Place	% of available water	Status
Palestine	47.8%	Status disputed

Questions

Which country in Asia has the most water stress?: Kuwait has the most water stress in Asia: 3,850.5% of its available fresh water (2022). Next come the United Arab Emirates (1,509.9% of its available fresh water) and Saudi Arabia (974.2% of its available fresh water).
Which country in Asia has the least water stress?: Cambodia, with 1.0% of its available fresh water (2022).
What is the typical water stress of a country in Asia?: The median of the 47 countries in Asia is 50.0% of its available fresh water: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
Where do the figures come from?: Fresh water taken for farms, industry and homes, as a share of the fresh water available after nature’s own needs. Past 100%, a country draws down groundwater or desalinates. Source: World Bank, mostly 2022. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.