Countries by Water Stress (%)
Complete ranking of 177 countries • % • Updated 2026
About Water Stress % Rankings
Egypt leads all 177 countries in Water Stress % with a value of 7.8K, while Congo ranks last at 0.02. This represents a 374,396-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.
What Water Stress % Measures
Water Stress % is a comparative indicator tracked across countries by the World Bank. It provides a quantitative basis for cross-national comparison, enabling researchers and policymakers to benchmark national performance on this dimension against global peers.
Why This Ranking Matters
Examining Water Stress % across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.
Global Range
Values range from 0.02 (Congo) to 7.8K (Egypt) — a 374.4K-fold difference across 177 countries.
Regional Patterns
Asian countries dominate this ranking, holding 13 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.
The distribution is highly right-skewed — a few countries have exceptionally high values that pull the average well above the median. The median (8.82) is far more representative than the mean (126.923).
Notable Outliers
Egypt stands far above the rest, with a value 100% higher than second-place Bahrain. This extraordinary lead suggests unique national circumstances — geographic scale, resource endowment, or policy choices — that set it apart from even its closest competitors.
Continental Leaders
Highest Ranked
The top five countries for Water Stress % are Egypt (7.8K), Bahrain (3.9K), Turkmenistan (1.9K), United Arab Emirates (1.5K), and Saudi Arabia (974.167). Together, these nations represent the global leaders in this metric.
Lowest Ranked
At the other end of the spectrum, Congo (0.02), Papua New Guinea (0.05), Central African Republic (0.05), Liberia (0.07), and Congo, Democratic Republic (0.08) have the lowest values globally.
Data Source & Methodology
Rankings are based on the latest available data from World Bank, covering 177 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.
Top 10 Countries
Full Rankings
| Percentile | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |  Egypt | 7750.0% | Africa | 100% |
| 2nd |  Bahrain | 3877.5% | Asia | 99% |
| 3rd |  Turkmenistan | 1868.0% | Asia | 99% |
| 4th |  United Arab Emirates | 1509.9% | Asia | 98% |
| 5th |  Saudi Arabia | 974.2% | Asia | 98% |
| 6th |  Libya | 817.1% | Africa | 97% |
| 7th |  Sudan | 673.4% | Africa | 97% |
| 8th |  Qatar | 446.4% | Asia | 96% |
| 9th |  Mauritania | 337.1% | Africa | 95% |
| 10th |  Pakistan | 326.0% | Asia | 95% |
| 11th |  Uzbekistan | 262.5% | Asia | 94% |
| 12th |  Israel | 204.0% | Asia | 94% |
| 13th |  Syria | 195.8% | Asia | 93% |
| 14th |  Yemen | 169.8% | Asia | 93% |
| 15th |  Azerbaijan | 160.5% | Europe | 92% |
| 16th |  Jordan | 139.3% | Asia | 92% |
| 17th |  Iraq | 120.5% | Asia | 91% |
| 18th |  Oman | 116.7% | Asia | 90% |
| 19th |  Tunisia | 92.1% | Africa | 90% |
| 20th |  Algeria | 91.5% | Africa | 89% |
| 21st |  Barbados | 87.5% | North America | 89% |
| 22nd |  Hungary | 78.2% | Europe | 88% |
| 23rd |  Netherlands | 74.9% | Europe | 88% |
| 24th |  Niger | 73.8% | Africa | 87% |
| 25th |  Malta | 72.6% | Europe | 86% |
| 26th |  Iran | 72.3% | Asia | 86% |
| 27th |  Serbia | 60.6% | Europe | 85% |
| 28th |  Cabo Verde | 59.7% | Africa | 85% |
| 29th |  Somalia | 55.0% | Africa | 84% |
| 30th |  Moldova | 52.2% | Europe | 84% |
| 31st |  Saint Kitts and Nevis | 50.8% | North America | 83% |
| 32nd |  South Africa | 47.1% | Africa | 82% |
| 33rd |  South Korea | 45.0% | Asia | 82% |
| 34th |  Armenia | 44.8% | Europe | 81% |
| 35th |  India | 44.8% | Asia | 81% |
| 36th |  Afghanistan | 43.0% | Asia | 80% |
| 37th |  Palestine | 41.2% | Asia | 80% |
| 38th |  Eswatini | 40.5% | Africa | 79% |
| 39th |  North Macedonia | 40.2% | Europe | 79% |
| 40th |  Zimbabwe | 40.0% | Africa | 78% |
| 41st |  Kazakhstan | 38.8% | Asia | 77% |
| 42nd |  Lebanon | 37.8% | Asia | 77% |
| 43rd |  Morocco | 36.5% | Africa | 76% |
| 44th |  Belgium | 35.8% | Europe | 76% |
| 45th |  Bangladesh | 34.2% | Asia | 75% |
| 46th |  Singapore | 33.3% | Asia | 75% |
| 47th |  Dominican Republic | 30.4% | North America | 74% |
| 48th |  Cyprus | 28.6% | Europe | 73% |
| 49th |  Turkey | 28.4% | Europe | 73% |
| 50th |  Spain | 26.1% | Europe | 72% |
| 51st |  Bulgaria | 25.9% | Europe | 72% |
| 52nd |  Thailand | 25.5% | Asia | 71% |
| 53rd |  Sri Lanka | 24.5% | Asia | 71% |
| 54th |  Germany | 24.1% | Europe | 70% |
| 55th |  Mauritius | 23.0% | Africa | 69% |
| 56th |  Vietnam | 22.8% | Asia | 69% |
| 57th |  Mexico | 22.0% | North America | 68% |
| 58th |  Eritrea | 20.8% | Africa | 68% |
| 59th |  China | 20.2% | Asia | 67% |
| 60th |  Kenya | 19.5% | Africa | 67% |
| 61st |  Romania | 19.2% | Europe | 66% |
| 62nd |  Philippines | 19.0% | Asia | 66% |
| 63rd |  Japan | 18.5% | Asia | 65% |
| 64th |  Italy | 18.5% | Europe | 64% |
| 65th |  Cuba | 18.3% | North America | 64% |
| 66th |  Poland | 17.5% | Europe | 63% |
| 67th |  Greece | 17.3% | Europe | 63% |
| 68th |  Tajikistan | 16.7% | Asia | 62% |
| 69th |  Portugal | 16.1% | Europe | 62% |
| 70th |  United States | 15.8% | North America | 61% |
| 71st |  Kyrgyzstan | 15.8% | Asia | 60% |
| 72nd |  Maldives | 15.7% | Asia | 60% |
| 73rd |  Denmark | 15.6% | Europe | 59% |
| 74th |  Saint Lucia | 14.3% | North America | 59% |
| 75th |  Timor-Leste | 14.3% | Asia | 58% |
| 76th |  North Korea | 12.9% | Asia | 58% |
| 77th |  Argentina | 12.9% | South America | 57% |
| 78th |  El Salvador | 12.4% | North America | 56% |
| 79th |  Jamaica | 12.4% | North America | 56% |
| 80th |  Puerto Rico | 12.3% | North America | 55% |
| 81st |  France | 12.2% | Europe | 55% |
| 82nd |  Senegal | 11.9% | Africa | 54% |
| 83rd |  Haiti | 11.1% | North America | 54% |
| 84th |  Indonesia | 11.0% | Asia | 53% |
| 85th |  Czechia | 11.0% | Europe | 53% |
| 86th |  Dominica | 10.0% | North America | 52% |
| 87th |  Estonia | 9.5% | Europe | 51% |
| 88th |  Botswana | 8.9% | Africa | 51% |
| 89th |  Ukraine | 8.8% | Europe | 50% |
| 90th |  Trinidad and Tobago | 8.8% | North America | 50% |
| 91st |  Ethiopia | 8.6% | Africa | 49% |
| 92nd |  Mali | 8.6% | Africa | 49% |
| 93rd |  Antigua and Barbuda | 8.5% | North America | 48% |
| 94th |  Malawi | 8.4% | Africa | 47% |
| 95th |  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 7.9% | North America | 47% |
| 96th |  Grenada | 7.0% | North America | 46% |
| 97th |  Burkina Faso | 6.5% | Africa | 46% |
| 98th |  Rwanda | 6.4% | Africa | 45% |
| 99th |  Djibouti | 6.3% | Africa | 45% |
| 100th |  Tanzania | 6.2% | Africa | 44% |
| 101st |  Chad | 5.9% | Africa | 44% |
| 102nd |  United Kingdom | 5.8% | Europe | 43% |
| 103rd |  Austria | 5.7% | Europe | 42% |
| 104th |  Nigeria | 5.6% | Africa | 42% |
| 105th |  Uruguay | 4.9% | South America | 41% |
| 106th |  Nepal | 4.8% | Asia | 41% |
| 107th |  Ghana | 4.8% | Africa | 40% |
| 108th |  Luxembourg | 4.8% | Europe | 40% |
| 109th |  Slovakia | 4.5% | Europe | 39% |
| 110th |  Slovenia | 4.4% | Europe | 38% |
| 111st |  Switzerland | 4.2% | Europe | 38% |
| 112nd |  Belarus | 4.2% | Europe | 37% |
| 113rd |  Chile | 4.0% | South America | 37% |
| 114th |  Madagascar | 4.0% | Africa | 36% |
| 115th |  Laos | 3.9% | Asia | 36% |
| 116th |  Ireland | 3.4% | Europe | 35% |
| 117th |  Gambia | 3.4% | Africa | 34% |
| 118th |  Myanmar | 3.3% | Asia | 34% |
| 119th |  Costa Rica | 3.1% | North America | 33% |
| 120th |  Guatemala | 3.0% | North America | 33% |
| 121st |  New Zealand | 3.0% | Oceania | 32% |
| 122nd |  Albania | 3.0% | Europe | 32% |
| 123rd |  Venezuela | 2.8% | North America | 31% |
| 124th |  Finland | 2.8% | Europe | 31% |
| 125th |  Burundi | 2.8% | Africa | 30% |
| 126th |  South Sudan | 2.5% | Africa | 29% |
| 127th |  Australia | 2.4% | Oceania | 29% |
| 128th |  Ecuador | 2.2% | South America | 28% |
| 129th |  Georgia | 2.2% | Europe | 28% |
| 130th |  Paraguay | 2.1% | South America | 27% |
| 131st |  Zambia | 2.0% | Africa | 27% |
| 132nd |  Lithuania | 1.9% | Europe | 26% |
| 133rd |  Togo | 1.9% | Africa | 25% |
| 134th |  Sao Tome and Principe | 1.9% | Africa | 25% |
| 135th |  Cambodia | 1.8% | Asia | 24% |
| 136th |  Croatia | 1.8% | Europe | 24% |
| 137th |  Honduras | 1.8% | North America | 23% |
| 138th |  Namibia | 1.7% | Africa | 23% |
| 139th |  Uganda | 1.6% | Africa | 22% |
| 140th |  Peru | 1.6% | South America | 21% |
| 141st |  Côte d'Ivoire | 1.5% | Africa | 21% |
| 142nd |  Russia | 1.5% | Europe | 20% |
| 143rd |  Mozambique | 1.5% | Africa | 20% |
| 144th |  Sweden | 1.5% | Europe | 19% |
| 145th |  Mongolia | 1.3% | Asia | 19% |
| 146th |  Canada | 1.3% | North America | 18% |
| 147th |  Benin | 1.3% | Africa | 18% |
| 148th |  Brazil | 1.2% | South America | 17% |
| 149th |  Malaysia | 1.2% | Asia | 16% |
| 150th |  Colombia | 1.1% | North America | 16% |
| 151st |  Guinea-Bissau | 1.1% | Africa | 15% |
| 152nd |  Brunei | 1.1% | Asia | 15% |
| 153rd |  Latvia | 1.0% | Europe | 14% |
| 154th |  Panama | 0.9% | North America | 14% |
| 155th |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.9% | Europe | 13% |
| 156th |  Lesotho | 0.8% | Africa | 12% |
| 157th |  Comoros | 0.8% | Africa | 12% |
| 158th |  Nicaragua | 0.8% | North America | 11% |
| 159th |  Norway | 0.7% | Europe | 11% |
| 160th |  Belize | 0.7% | North America | 10% |
| 161st |  Suriname | 0.6% | North America | 10% |
| 162nd |  Guyana | 0.6% | North America | 9% |
| 163rd |  Angola | 0.5% | Africa | 8% |
| 164th |  Bhutan | 0.4% | Asia | 8% |
| 165th |  Cameroon | 0.4% | Africa | 7% |
| 166th |  Guinea | 0.4% | Africa | 7% |
| 167th |  Fiji | 0.3% | Oceania | 6% |
| 168th |  Iceland | 0.2% | Europe | 6% |
| 169th |  Sierra Leone | 0.1% | Africa | 5% |
| 170th |  Bolivia | 0.1% | South America | 5% |
| 171st |  Gabon | 0.1% | Africa | 4% |
| 172nd |  Equatorial Guinea | 0.1% | Africa | 3% |
| 173rd |  Congo, Democratic Republic | 0.1% | Africa | 3% |
| 174th |  Liberia | 0.1% | Africa | 2% |
| 175th |  Central African Republic | 0.1% | Africa | 2% |
| 176th |  Papua New Guinea | 0.0% | Oceania | 1% |
| 177th |  Congo | 0.0% | Africa | 1% |