Water scarcity conditions in Europe

Urban Farm DB summary

According to this EEA indicator, water scarcity affected 28% of EU territory during at least one season in 2023. Although water abstraction fell 14% across the EU between 2000 and 2023, the area affected by water scarcity has not shrunk overall. Southern Europe experiences water scarcity year-round, with about 30% of the population in areas of permanent water stress and up to 70% in areas of seasonal summer stress; Cyprus and Malta are the most severely affected (seasonal WEI+ above 40%), with Greece, Romania, Portugal, Italy and Spain also notably affected in spring and summer.

Only numbers and their conditions are stored, as structured data — never the source's own sentences. Metric and condition names stay in English, as coded.

• 28 %

  area affected share(eu water scarcity)

  Water

  region

  European Union

  year

  2023

• 14 %↓ Decrease

  water abstraction change(eu water abstraction)

  Water

  region

  European Union

  year

  2000-2023

• 30 %

  population share permanent stress(southern europe water stress)

  Water

  region

  Southern Europe

  method

  areas with permanent water stress

• 70 %

  population share seasonal stress(southern europe water stress)

  Water

  region

  Southern Europe

  method

  areas with seasonal summer stress

Direction of conclusions

Each author conclusion is recorded only as a coded direction per topic. Read the original for the conclusion itself.

• Water useSupportsWith caveats