Water stress
1509.9%
Country Water Profile
Water Risk in United Arab Emirates
SDG 6.4.2 water stress: 1509.9% · WRI Aqueduct baseline water stress: Extremely High (>80%) · At least basic drinking water: 100.0%
United Arab Emirates has 1509.9% SDG 6.4.2 water stress in the latest available FAO AQUASTAT reading, while WRI Aqueduct classifies baseline water stress as Extremely High (>80%). WHO/UNICEF JMP estimates at least basic drinking-water access at 100.0% and safely managed drinking water at 98.6%.
United Arab Emirates combines extreme water stress with strong basic drinking water access, making desalination, groundwater management and long-term demand control central to its water-risk profile.
Basic drinking water
100.0%
Agricultural water use
51.2%
Population
11M
Aqueduct category
Extremely High (>80%)
Key Takeaway
The main takeaway for United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates has an extreme water-stress profile: withdrawals place very high pressure on very limited renewable freshwater resources, even though basic drinking water access remains strong. The country’s water security depends heavily on desalination, groundwater management, infrastructure reliability and demand control, especially as agriculture, cities and climate variability continue to shape long-term water risk.
Key Indicators
What the main numbers say about United Arab Emirates
Water Stress
1509.9%
Basic Drinking Water Access
100.0%
Agricultural Water Use
51.2%
Population
11M
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 1509.9% 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 51.2% 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 100.0%, but high access does not remove underlying resource stress, because reliability, service quality, and regional differences can still remain significant.
Drought adds volatility
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
100.0%
Safely managed
98.6%
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.
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
United Arab Emirates shows 1509.9% SDG 6.4.2 water stress in the latest FAO AQUASTAT reading. The SDG threshold band is Critical (SDG 6.4.2 threshold). This percentage-based SDG indicator should be interpreted separately from WRI Aqueduct’s baseline water-stress category, which classifies United Arab Emirates as Extremely High (>80%).
Basic drinking water access is 100.0%, while service quality and reliability can still vary below headline access figures.
Groundwater pressure is described as very high groundwater pressure, showing that underground water resources remain an important part of the national water risk picture.
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 | 11M | World Bank | 2024 | Shows the scale of demand that water systems must serve. |
| Water stress | 1509.9% | FAO AQUASTAT | 2022 | Shows how much pressure water withdrawals place on available resources. |
| Basic drinking water access | 100.0% | 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 | 51.2% | FAO AQUASTAT | 2022 | Shows how strongly national water demand is concentrated in agriculture. |
| Drought exposure | WRI Aqueduct | Baseline | Shows how strongly climate variability can intensify water supply pressure. | |
| Groundwater pressure | Very high groundwater pressure | FAO AQUASTAT | 2022 | Shows how strongly the country depends on stressed groundwater resources. |
| Aqueduct water stress category | Extremely High (>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 | Critical (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 United Arab Emirates as Extremely High (>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 51.2% of total withdrawal, shaping competition between sectors and long-term resource pressure.
Groundwater
Groundwater pressure is very high, suggesting that withdrawals are placing severe strain on renewable groundwater resources.
Main causes
High demand meets very limited renewable freshwater
The United Arab Emirates faces extreme water stress because urban growth, economic activity and household demand are high while renewable freshwater resources are naturally very limited. As a result, water withdrawals place heavy pressure on the country’s freshwater base, even though advanced infrastructure and desalination help maintain strong basic drinking water access.
Agricultural water use increases pressure on scarce freshwater
Agriculture is a major source of water risk in the United Arab Emirates because irrigation and food-production needs require water in an arid climate. With agricultural water use accounting for 51.2% of total water withdrawal, farming demand can increase pressure on groundwater and long-term supply resilience, even when cities rely heavily on desalinated water.
Arid climate and drought exposure increase supply vulnerability
The United Arab Emirates is located in an arid region where low rainfall, high evaporation and climate variability make natural freshwater replenishment limited and uneven. Drought exposure can amplify water risk by reducing surface-water availability, increasing reliance on groundwater and desalination, and making long-term planning more dependent on resilient infrastructure.
Groundwater pressure is a long-term water-security concern
Groundwater is important for the United Arab Emirates because natural recharge is limited and freshwater aquifers can act as a strategic reserve during periods of high demand or emergency. When groundwater withdrawals exceed sustainable renewal, pressure builds over time, increasing the risk of depletion, declining water quality and weaker resilience during drought or supply disruption.
Desalination and infrastructure reduce access risk but create dependency
The United Arab Emirates relies heavily on desalination, water networks and storage infrastructure to provide reliable drinking water despite limited natural freshwater. This reduces household access risk, but it also shifts part of the country’s water risk toward energy use, treatment costs, infrastructure reliability, emergency preparedness and long-term management of desalination, treated water reuse and groundwater systems.
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 1509.9%, 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 100.0% 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 51.2% 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
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
United Arab Emirates 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 level
The United Arab Emirates has an extreme water-stress level because freshwater withdrawals are very high compared with the country’s limited renewable freshwater resources. This should be read as a resource-pressure indicator, not as a direct measure of household drinking water access.
Water demand reduction target
The UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 aims to reduce total demand for water resources by 21%. This makes demand management a central part of the country’s long-term water-risk response, alongside desalination, storage, treated water reuse and groundwater protection.
Treated water reuse target
The United Arab Emirates aims to increase treated water reuse to 95% by 2036. Expanding reuse can reduce pressure on scarce freshwater resources and support more resilient supply for landscaping, agriculture, industry and other non-potable uses.
What to watch
- Watch whether the United Arab Emirates can reduce total water demand while population, urban growth and economic activity continue to increase. The UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 targets a 21% reduction in total demand for water resources, making demand management one of the clearest indicators of long-term water-risk progress.
- Watch how desalination capacity, energy use and infrastructure reliability evolve. Desalination helps the United Arab Emirates maintain strong drinking water access despite limited natural freshwater, but it also creates dependence on energy, treatment systems, storage, emergency planning and coastal infrastructure.
- Watch groundwater pressure and aquifer protection. Groundwater remains a strategic reserve for the United Arab Emirates, but limited natural recharge means overuse can weaken long-term resilience, reduce water quality and increase vulnerability during drought, supply disruption or periods of unusually high demand.
- Watch progress on treated water reuse. The UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 aims to increase treated water reuse to 95%, which could reduce pressure on scarce freshwater resources and support non-potable uses such as landscaping, agriculture, industry and urban cooling.
The story behind the data
United Arab Emirates 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 United Arab Emirates
Is the United Arab Emirates facing a water crisis?
Yes. The United Arab Emirates faces severe structural water pressure because renewable freshwater resources are extremely limited and water stress is very high. Its profile combines 1509.9% water stress, an Extremely High WRI water-risk category, and strong dependence on desalination and other non-conventional water sources. This points to a long-term resource-pressure problem rather than a temporary shortage.
What causes water stress in the United Arab Emirates?
The main causes are limited natural freshwater availability, high urban and economic water demand, agricultural water use, groundwater pressure, desalination dependence and an arid climate. Water stress is especially high because withdrawals are measured against the country’s scarce renewable freshwater resources, not against its ability to provide drinking water through infrastructure and desalination.
Does everyone in the United Arab Emirates have access to safe drinking water?
Not necessarily in the full service-quality sense. The United Arab Emirates shows 100.0% basic drinking water access, but basic access does not automatically mean every person always has equally safe, affordable, reliable and continuously available water in every setting. JMP service levels distinguish between basic and safely managed drinking water, so high basic access should not be read as universal high-quality service under all conditions.
Why is agriculture so important in the United Arab Emirates’ water risk?
Agriculture is important because it accounts for 51.2% of total water withdrawal, making it a major pressure point in the United Arab Emirates’ water profile. In an arid country with limited renewable freshwater, irrigation and agricultural demand can increase pressure on groundwater and long-term supply resilience, even when cities rely heavily on desalination and advanced water infrastructure.
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.