Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia consumed around 3,150 million cubic meters of water last year, compared with 3,129 million cubic meters in 2016, registering a slight growth of 0.7 percent, which is the lowest growth rate in five years. According to an analysis published in the Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper based on data from the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the General Authority for Statistics, the average per capita water consumption declined by 1.7 percent despite a slight increase in total consumption.

This is because the population growth at 2.4 percent was higher that the rate of increase in consumption. According to the estimates of the General Authority for Statistics, Saudi population rose from 31.79 million in 2016 to 32.55 million in 2017.

The average per capita water use in the Kingdom was 266 liters per day (96.8 cubic meters per year) in 2017 compared to 270 liters per day (98.4 cubic meters per year) in 2016, recording a decline of 1.7 percent for the first time since 2013.

About 49 percent of the water consumed domestically came from desalinated water. The volume of desalinated water in 2017 was estimated at 1.55 million cubic meters, compared to 1.38 million cubic meters in 2016, a growth of 12.8 percent. Consumption of desalinated desalinated water has grown for the seventh consecutive year from 2011.

The amount of water consumed in Saudi Arabia is about 175 million water tanks with a capacity of 18 cubic meters in 2017, compared to 173.84 million tanks with a capacity of 18 cubic meters in 2016.

In other words, in 2017 each person consumed about 5.38 water tanks with a load of 18 cubic meters, compared to 5.47 tanks the previous year.