Water stress
43.3%
Country Water Profile
Water Risk in Spain
SDG 6.4.2 water stress: 43.3% · WRI Aqueduct baseline water stress: High (40-80%) · At least basic drinking water: 99.9% · Drought exposure: Medium (0.4-0.6)
Spain has 43.3% SDG 6.4.2 water stress in the latest available FAO AQUASTAT reading, while WRI Aqueduct classifies baseline water stress as High (40-80%). WHO/UNICEF JMP estimates at least basic drinking-water access at 99.9% and safely managed drinking water at 99.5%. WRI Aqueduct adds a baseline drought exposure signal of Medium (0.4-0.6).
Spain faces structural water pressure driven by high water stress, heavy agricultural demand, and climate variability, even though basic drinking-water access remains very high.
Basic drinking water
99.9%
Agricultural water use
65.3%
Population
48.8M
Aqueduct category
High (40-80%)
Key Takeaway
The main takeaway for Spain
Spain’s water profile points to structural pressure rather than a short-term shortage. Water stress is high at 43.3%, agriculture accounts for 65.3% of total water withdrawal, and medium drought exposure adds volatility to supply conditions. Basic drinking-water access remains very high at 99.9%, but strong access does not remove underlying pressure on water resources. Taken together, these indicators suggest that Spain’s water risk is shaped by long-term demand, climate variability, and uneven pressure across regions and seasons.
Key Indicators
What the main numbers say about Spain
Water Stress
43.3%
Basic Drinking Water Access
99.9%
Agricultural Water Use
65.3%
Population
48.8M
Water Access and Service Quality
Water access, sanitation and service quality
This section brings together headline access, service quality, sanitation, hygiene, and the biggest access gaps.
What stands out most clearly
Water stress remains structurally high
The latest public indicators show 43.3% water stress, suggesting that pressure is not just episodic but tied to long-term demand, supply limits, and wider resource management.
Agriculture dominates water demand
Agriculture accounts for 65.3% of total water withdrawal, making it the single most important driver of national water pressure and a key factor in long-term system strain.
Access and pressure tell different stories
Basic drinking water access reaches 99.9%, but high access does not remove underlying resource stress, because reliability, service quality, and regional differences can still remain significant.
Drought adds volatility
A drought exposure rating of Medium (0.4-0.6) means climate variability remains an important part of the national risk picture and can turn existing pressure into sharper disruption during dry periods.
Headline access
Headline access figures do not tell the whole story. This breakdown shows how baseline access, service quality, and urban-rural differences shape the real picture.
Basic access
99.9%
Safely managed
99.5%
Sanitation and hygiene conditions
Safely managed drinking water
Shows the share of the population with a higher-quality drinking water service than basic access alone.
Sanitation service level
Shows whether sanitation access keeps pace with drinking water access and whether service quality remains uneven.
Open defecation
Helps show whether sanitation access gaps still translate into major health and dignity risks.
Urban and rural differences
Basic drinking water: urban vs rural
Shows whether headline access hides a meaningful urban-rural inequality.
Safely managed drinking water: urban vs rural
Shows whether service quality gaps remain sharper outside cities even when basic access is relatively high.
Where the biggest gaps appear
The most useful signals often sit in the gaps between access, service quality, geography, and resource pressure.
Basic vs safely managed
The gap between basic access and safely managed service shows where headline access still overstates full service quality.
Stress vs access
Comparing water stress with access helps show whether infrastructure outcomes are masking deeper resource pressure.
Overview
The overall country profile
Spain shows 43.3% SDG 6.4.2 water stress in the latest FAO AQUASTAT reading. The SDG threshold band is Low (SDG 6.4.2 threshold). This percentage-based SDG indicator should be interpreted separately from WRI Aqueduct’s baseline water-stress category, which classifies Spain as High (40-80%).
Basic drinking water access is 99.9%, while service quality and reliability can still vary below headline access figures.
Drought exposure is classified as Medium (0.4-0.6), while groundwater pressure is described as moderate groundwater pressure. Together these factors can make water stress harder to manage across seasons and regions.
Water Data Snapshot
A quick reference table
These indicators show where water pressure comes from, how it affects access, and how each metric should be interpreted in context.
| Indicator | Value | Source | Year | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 48.8M | World Bank | 2024 | Shows the scale of demand that water systems must serve. |
| Water stress | 43.3% | FAO AQUASTAT | 2022 | Shows how much pressure water withdrawals place on available resources. |
| Basic drinking water access | 99.9% | WHO/UNICEF JMP | 2024 | Shows how many people have at least basic drinking water access, but not full service quality on its own. |
| Agricultural water use share | 65.3% | FAO AQUASTAT | 2022 | Shows how strongly national water demand is concentrated in agriculture. |
| Drought exposure | Medium (0.4-0.6) | WRI Aqueduct | Baseline | Shows how strongly climate variability can intensify water supply pressure. |
| Groundwater pressure | Moderate groundwater pressure | FAO AQUASTAT | 2022 | Shows how strongly the country depends on stressed groundwater resources. |
| Aqueduct water stress category | High (40-80%) | WRI Aqueduct | Baseline | Shows WRI’s comparative risk category and should not be read as the same metric as FAO water stress %. |
| SDG 6.4.2 threshold band | Low (SDG 6.4.2 threshold) | FAO AQUASTAT / SDG 6.4.2 | Shows the SDG threshold band only; interpret it separately from WRI Aqueduct baseline water stress, which classifies Spain as High (40-80%). |
Main Pressures
Why water pressure builds and what it means
This section combines the main drivers, pressure points, visible effects, and key takeaways.
The strongest pressure points
Agriculture
Agriculture remains an important water user at 65.3% of total withdrawal, shaping competition between sectors and long-term resource pressure.
Groundwater
Groundwater plays an important balancing role, but pressure levels suggest that some regions may face medium-term sustainability constraints.
Drought Variability
Drought risk is material enough to affect agriculture, reservoirs, and seasonal water availability.
Main causes
High water demand
Spain faces sustained pressure on water resources because overall demand remains high across agriculture, households, industry, and tourism. When multiple sectors rely on the same limited supplies, water stress becomes harder to manage across regions and seasons.
Agricultural pressure
Agriculture is a major driver of water pressure in Spain, accounting for 65.3% of total water withdrawal. Heavy irrigation demand increases long-term strain on national water resources and makes water management more difficult during dry periods.
Drought and climate variability
Drought exposure adds volatility to Spain’s water profile by reducing supply reliability and increasing pressure during dry periods. Even when access remains high, climate variability can intensify existing stress and make shortages more disruptive across regions.
Groundwater stress
Groundwater remains an important part of Spain’s water-risk profile, especially where surface supplies are less reliable. When water systems depend more heavily on groundwater during dry periods, pressure can build over time and become harder to manage sustainably.
Service and infrastructure pressure
Spain has very high basic drinking-water access, but strong coverage does not remove underlying system pressure. Service quality, reliability, and regional consistency can still vary, especially when infrastructure operates under long-term resource stress.
How pressure becomes visible
Water Stress
Water stress shows up through competing demand across agriculture, households, industry, and ecosystems.
Drinking Water Access
Drinking water pressure shows up through access, quality, reliability, and service differences between places and populations.
Drought and Variability
Drought and climate variability amplify water pressure by reducing supply reliability and increasing seasonal exposure.
What the numbers suggest
Water stress is a resource signal
With water stress at 43.3%, pressure on available water resources is high enough to shape the broader national water picture, not just isolated local shortages.
Access does not erase risk
Basic drinking water access at 99.9% does not remove underlying water risk, because service quality, reliability, and regional differences can still remain significant under high system pressure.
Agriculture is central to demand
Agricultural water use at 65.3% shows that farming remains the dominant driver of national water demand and a major source of long-term pressure on water systems.
Climate variability amplifies pressure
A drought exposure rating of Medium (0.4-0.6) means climate variability can intensify existing stress and make dry periods more disruptive for supply and reliability.
Long-Term Story
The longer-term story
This section combines trend evidence, forward-looking signals, and the broader country narrative.
Trend summary
Spain shows a persistent need to manage water demand, service resilience, and climate-related supply variability together.
Across public datasets, the overall picture is one of overlapping stress: demand pressures, uneven service outcomes, and climate-linked variability all contribute to the water risk profile.
Trend indicators
Water stress
Water stress remains high enough to signal persistent pressure on available water resources, rather than only short-term scarcity.
Safely managed drinking water
Safely managed drinking-water coverage is very high, but strong access does not remove underlying pressure on water systems or regional supply risks.
Agricultural water use
Agriculture accounts for a large share of total water withdrawal, keeping long-term demand pressure high and making dry periods harder to manage.
What to watch
- Agricultural demand remains one of the clearest pressure points in Spain’s water profile, because irrigation accounts for a large share of total water withdrawal and keeps long-term demand high.
- Drought variability remains important because even moderate drought exposure can intensify existing stress and make water supply less reliable across regions and seasons.
- Groundwater pressure should be monitored closely, especially in areas where surface water is less reliable and dry periods increase dependence on underground supplies.
- Headline drinking-water access should be read alongside broader service quality and resource pressure, because high coverage does not remove deeper system risk.
The story behind the data
Spain faces overlapping water pressures from demand, infrastructure, and climate variability.
Public datasets point to pressure across water availability, drinking water service conditions, and sectoral demand.
This profile should be read as a comparative public-data overview rather than a single harmonized statistical series.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about water risk in Spain
Is Spain facing a water crisis?
Spain faces structural water pressure rather than a single, uniform nationwide shortage. Public indicators show 43.3% water stress, 65.3% agricultural water withdrawal, and Medium (0.4–0.6) drought exposure, which together point to a long-term resource management challenge. At the same time, basic drinking-water access is very high at 99.9%, so the main issue is not universal lack of access, but the pressure created by demand, irrigation, climate variability, and uneven conditions across regions.
What causes water stress in Spain?
Water stress in Spain is mainly driven by high overall demand, especially from agriculture, which accounts for 65.3% of total water withdrawal. Pressure is intensified by irrigation needs, seasonal and regional differences in supply, drought-related variability, and continued dependence on groundwater in some areas. In practice, Spain’s water risk is shaped less by one single cause than by the interaction of demand, climate volatility, and uneven basin-level pressure.
Does everyone in Spain have access to safe drinking water?
Not necessarily in the fullest sense of the term. Spain’s headline figure for basic drinking-water access is 99.9%, and the page also reports 99.5% safely managed drinking-water access, which indicates very high coverage overall. But high national coverage should not be read as proof that service is equally reliable, consistent, and resilient in every place and at all times. A strong access figure can coexist with deeper resource pressure, infrastructure strain, and regional variation.
Why is agriculture so important in Spain’s water risk?
Agriculture is central to Spain’s water profile because it uses 65.3% of total water withdrawal, making it the largest single source of national water demand. That means irrigation has a major influence on both current water stress and long-term resilience. When agricultural demand remains high, dry periods become harder to manage, competition between uses becomes sharper, and pressure on both surface water and groundwater can increase.
Sources
What powers this profile
Which source powers which metric
- Population: World Bank
- Water stress: FAO AQUASTAT
- Drinking water: WHO/UNICEF JMP
- Agriculture: FAO AQUASTAT
- Drought: WRI Aqueduct
- Groundwater: FAO AQUASTAT
Methodology
How to read the data
This country profile combines World Bank API indicators with structured country feeds derived from JMP, AQUASTAT, and Aqueduct. Indicators come from different systems and years, so they should be interpreted together as a comparative public-data profile rather than a single harmonized statistical series.
FAO AQUASTAT SDG 6.4.2 water stress is a percentage-based national withdrawal indicator, while WRI Aqueduct baseline water stress is a separate risk-category system. These two metrics should be interpreted together, not treated as the same classification.Data confidence
Indicators may come from different years and sources and should be interpreted together as a comparative public-data profile rather than a single harmonized statistical series.