- Industry and energy together account for 20 per cent of water demand. (3rd UN World Water Development Report, 2009)
- Hydropower supplies about 20 per cent of the world’s electricity, a share that has remained stable since the 1990s. (3rd UN World Water Development Report, 2009)
- As of 2000 there were more than 50,000 large dams in operation. (3rd UN World Water Development Report, 2009)
- Over 1 billion people worldwide lack access to electricity and other clean sources of energy. The growing demand for energy will create increasing pressure on water resources, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and in the least developed countries of South Asia, which account for 80 per cent of the 1.5 billion people lacking access to electricity globally. (4th UN World Water Development Report, 2012)
- According to the International Energy Agency, electricity generation from hydropower and other renewable energy sources is projected to increase at an average annual rate of 1.7 per cent from 2004 to 2030, for an overall increase of 60 per cent through 2030. (3rd UN World Water Development Report, 2009)
- Only about 25 per cent of the world’s dams are involved in producing hydropower. (2nd UN World Water Development Report, 2006)
- Only 5 per cent of total hydropower potential has been exploited in Africa, where many hydropower sites are situated on transboundary rivers, thus providing significant opportunities for increased cooperation on benefit sharing among neighbouring states. (4th UN World Water Development Report, 2012)
- Industrial water productivity varies greatly across countries and is only partially linked to a country’s level of industrialisation. As an example, industrial water productivity is $138 per cubic metre in Denmark and less than $10 per cubic metre in the United States. (3rd UN World Water Development Report, 2009)
- The anticipated water requirements for energy production will increase by 11.2 per cent by 2050 if current consumption modes are kept. (4th UN World Water Development Report, 2012)
