Water in South Africa

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.INTR.K3. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).

Method: Renewable internal freshwater resources: the long-term average annual flow of rivers and recharge of groundwater generated from precipitation within the country. Internal resources exclude inflow from upstream countries, so this is the measure of self-sufficiency rather than of total availability. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.

Retrieved 24 August 2026.

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.INTR.PC. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).

Method: Renewable internal freshwater resources divided by population. Because the population denominator updates annually while the resource figure is a long-term hydrological average, movement in this series is largely population change rather than hydrological change. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT and World Bank population estimates. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.

Retrieved 24 August 2026.

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.FWTL.K3. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).

Method: Total annual freshwater withdrawn for agricultural, industrial and domestic use. Withdrawal is not consumption: much of what is withdrawn is returned to the source catchment. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.

Retrieved 24 August 2026.

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.FWAG.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).

Method: Agricultural withdrawal as a percentage of total freshwater withdrawal. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.

Retrieved 24 August 2026.

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.FWIN.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).

Method: Industrial withdrawal as a percentage of total freshwater withdrawal. Countries differ in whether thermoelectric cooling is counted here, and where it is the share reflects cooling arrangements rather than manufacturing intensity. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.

Retrieved 24 August 2026.

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator ER.H2O.FWDM.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).

Method: Domestic and municipal withdrawal as a percentage of total freshwater withdrawal. Originating body: FAO AQUASTAT. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.

Retrieved 24 August 2026.

This is not a direct measurement. Output of a numerical or statistical model rather than a measurement.

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).

Method: Population using an improved drinking water source that is accessible on premises, available when needed, and free from priority contamination — all three simultaneously. Modelled from household surveys and censuses, not counted. Originating body: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.

Retrieved 24 August 2026.

This is not a direct measurement. Output of a numerical or statistical model rather than a measurement.

Source: World Bank — World Development Indicators, World Bank WDI indicator SH.STA.SMSS.ZS. Licence: Open — attribution required (attribution required).

Method: Population using improved sanitation facilities not shared with other households, where excreta are safely disposed of in situ or treated off site. Originating body: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme. The World Bank publishes its datasets under CC BY 4.0, but relayed third-party material may carry the originator's own terms — verify with them before commercial reuse.

Retrieved 24 August 2026.