Global water crisis: Top 7 countries with the highest water scarcity

Kuwait tops the list of water scarcity, with more than 99 per cent of the freshwater coming from the desalination plants. The Asian country has a policy of providing municipal water from these plants. Very little

Cyprus is the second country in the list, a small island nation, which has limited rainfall and hot, dry summers. Much of the water comes from the desalination and recycling plants.

Oman is also using the majority of its water from desalination plants, by converting seawater into freshwater. It has made significant strides in addressing its water scarcity, but its arid climate and increasing population have landed it in a terrible cycle.

Qatar is a desert nation without a single river. It is surrounded by the Persian Gulf on three sides. It is the prime example of a wealthy nation suffering from water scarcity and how population growth drives up water demand, despite a lack of natural freshwater resources. Industrial development and urbanisation have pushed Qatar to the brink of a water crisis.

Bahrain is the 5th most water-stressed country in the world. Key factors contributing to the crisis are an arid climate, extremely limited renewable freshwater, and high per-capita demand. Most of its demands are met by desalination plants

The West Asian nation situated at the junction of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula is also facing severe water stress, primarily due to over-extraction of rivers and groundwater, mismanaged infrastructure, population growth, pollution, and climate variability.

The desert nation, due to its rapid urbanisation, has high per-capita water use. Decades of over-extraction, limited rainfall have severely depleted its groundwater levels.