[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"question:47:en-US":3},{"metadata":4,"sys":15,"fields":35},{"tags":5,"concepts":14},[6,11],{"sys":7},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":10},"Link","Tag","global",{"sys":12},{"type":8,"linkType":9,"id":13},"water",[],{"space":16,"id":20,"type":21,"createdAt":22,"updatedAt":23,"environment":24,"publishedVersion":28,"revision":29,"contentType":30,"locale":34},{"sys":17},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"Space","ghhpjogyw4x7","15a8c339eae0764b9df9b49e3d3e812d","Entry","2021-11-11T07:07:40.512Z","2023-11-27T09:10:57.060Z",{"sys":25},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},"master","Environment",43,16,{"sys":31},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":33},"ContentType","question","en-US",{"globalId":36,"answers":37,"answersAsImages":57,"wrongPercentage":94,"name":95,"questionText":96,"statistics":97,"veryWrongStatistics":99,"correctSentence":101,"youWereWrong":102,"youWereRight":103,"dataSourceShortText":104,"dataSourceLinkLongText":105,"extendedAnswerText":106,"headingVeryWrong":107,"youWereVeryWrong":108,"headingWrong":107},"47",[38,60,77],{"metadata":39,"sys":42,"fields":55},{"tags":40,"concepts":41},[],[],{"space":43,"id":45,"type":21,"createdAt":46,"updatedAt":47,"environment":48,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":52,"locale":34},{"sys":44},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"1d9e939a57f04126338d915eb53478af","2021-11-11T06:53:16.446Z","2023-11-16T14:51:02.711Z",{"sys":49},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},18,11,{"sys":53},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},"answer",{"globalId":56,"correctAnswer":57,"isVeryWrong":58,"answerText":59},"47-a1",false,true,"Around 30%",{"metadata":61,"sys":64,"fields":74},{"tags":62,"concepts":63},[],[],{"space":65,"id":67,"type":21,"createdAt":68,"updatedAt":69,"environment":70,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":72,"locale":34},{"sys":66},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"5ab298ad6f3d98e978f81edc6341c39f","2021-11-11T06:53:18.103Z","2023-11-16T14:51:02.757Z",{"sys":71},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":73},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":75,"correctAnswer":57,"isVeryWrong":57,"answerText":76},"47-a2","Around 50%",{"metadata":78,"sys":81,"fields":91},{"tags":79,"concepts":80},[],[],{"space":82,"id":84,"type":21,"createdAt":85,"updatedAt":86,"environment":87,"publishedVersion":50,"revision":51,"contentType":89,"locale":34},{"sys":83},{"type":8,"linkType":18,"id":19},"b01d88c7461770a6c369694aa45fc985","2021-11-11T06:53:19.528Z","2023-11-16T14:51:02.805Z",{"sys":88},{"id":26,"type":8,"linkType":27},{"sys":90},{"type":8,"linkType":32,"id":54},{"globalId":92,"correctAnswer":58,"isVeryWrong":57,"answerText":93},"47-a3","Around 70%",71,"Of all the freshwater used in the world, how much ","Of all the freshwater used in the world, how much goes to agriculture?",[98],"uk 0.71",[100],"uk 0.372","Globally, around 70% of all the world’s freshwater is used for agriculture. ","You underestimate how much water is sucked up into food production.","They don’t realize how much water is sucked up by food production.","Source: FAO AQUASTAT","The share of 70% of freshwater withdrawals being used by the agricultural sector[1] comes from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization AQUASTAT database[2]. The data is collected by FAO, using self-reported estimates from the individual countries and measures the share of freshwater withdrawals that go to the agricultural sector, which is estimated to be around 70% worldwide[3]. One caveat with this data is that for some countries the reported estimate is quite old, but it is the latest available.\n\nFreshwater withdrawals is the volume of water removed from a water body. It is then partly consumed\u002Fused and partly returned to the same or another water source to be available for future use.\nWater consumption on the other hand is just the water that isn’t returned to a water source. Agriculture's share of water consumption is even higher than it is for water withdrawals due to crops and plants losing water through evaporation and transpiration. \n\nThis number includes water withdrawn for irrigation purposes and for livestock watering although, depending on the country, livestock watering sometimes is included in municipal water withdrawal. As far as the water withdrawn for irrigation is concerned, the value far exceeds the consumptive use of irrigation because of water lost in the distribution from the water source to the crops.\n\n[1]  [Our World in Data - Freshwater withdrawals used in Agriculture](https:\u002F\u002Fourworldindata.org\u002Fwater-use-stress#share-of-freshwater-withdrawals-used-in-agriculture)  \n[2]  [UN FAO AQUASTAT database](http:\u002F\u002Fwww.fao.org\u002Fnr\u002Fwater\u002Faquastat\u002Fdata\u002Fquery\u002Findex.html?lang=en)  \n[3]  [Freshwater withdrawals chart - World Bank](https:\u002F\u002Fblogs.worldbank.org\u002Fopendata\u002Fchart-globally-70-freshwater-used-agriculture)\n","Everyone knows that water is needed to grow food. But it's much more than people realize. Think of the large fields that must be properly irrigated to not run dry, particularly in areas where there isn’t much rain. And the animals that need to drink. All of that dwarfs the amount used in the municipal and industrial sectors.\n\n### Why is it a problem that people are wrong about this?\nIf a majority of people underestimate the share of water the agricultural sector uses, they will probably focus on other areas they think are more important, and water handling in agriculture will improve more slowly than it should have otherwise. \n\n### Why are people wrong about this?\nPerhaps it is because we hear so much about droughts impacting farmers in the media. Or because we look at our own water use and overestimate the amount of water we and the cities we live in use every day. \n\n### How is freshwater used?\n“Water use” can refer to both water withdrawal and water consumption. In our question we are referring freshwater withdrawals. Freshwater withdrawal is the volume of water removed from a water body. It is then partly consumed\u002Fused and partly returned to the same or another water source to be available for future use.\nWater consumption on the other hand is the water that isn’t returned to a water source. Agriculture's share of water consumption is even higher than it is for water withdrawals due crops losing water through evaporation and transpiration.\n\n### How can the agricultural sector account for 70% of freshwater withdrawal?\nAgriculture is a water intensive industry. Crops for feeding both humans and animals require lots of water to grow and [according to the World Bank ](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldbank.org\u002Fen\u002Ftopic\u002Fwater-in-agriculture#:~:text=Water%20is%20a%20critical%20input,important%20role%20in%20food%20security.&text=Currently%2C%20agriculture%20accounts%20(on%20average,to%20the%20evapotranspiration%20of%20crops)%20irrigated%20agriculture%20represents%2020%20percent%20of%20the%20total%20cultivated) irrigated agriculture represents 20 percent of the total cultivated land in the world, and contributes 40 percent of the total food produced worldwide. \n\n### Where can I learn more?\nSee [freshwater use in different sectors by region](https:\u002F\u002Fblogs.worldbank.org\u002Fopendata\u002Fchart-globally-70-freshwater-used-agriculture). \n\n### Can I trust this data and number?\nYes, but 70% is a rough estimate. Some of the data in the AQUASTAT database where this comes from, is quite old and relies upon countries filling out the AQUASTAT annual questionnaire. Also, in countries that have a lot of thermal power plants, the share of agricultural water usage will be lower because of the high amount of water used by these plants. \n","Plants need sun, soil and ...","You had no clue how much water is sucked up into food production."]