Water Consumption in the Arabian Peninsula


I was able to discover my daily water usage using the
Water Footprint Calculator and Water Footprint Network. The first source calculated that I use 1,652 gallons of water per day and the second source I used calculated that I use 1839.5 gallons of water per day. Coming to an average of 1744.3 gallons of water per day, and 636,669.5 gallons per year. I am slightly below the United States average of 1802 gallons per day and 657,730 gallons per year. 

 

Looking at my results in comparison to the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, my average water consumption per day is higher than Kuwait, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia and lower than the United Arab Emirates. My water consumption is equal to 6,253.5 liters per day. The water consumption of Kuwait is 5700 liters per day, Saudi Arabia is 5,100 liters per day, and Yemen is 2,500 liters per day. The United Arab Emirates uses a good bit more than these other countries, averaging 8,600 liters per day. Although the United Arab Emirates has a higher average per day, their water consumption per year (10 million meters cubed per year) is less than Saudi Arabia (39 million meters cubed per year) and Yemen (17 million meters cubed per year). Both Saudi Arabia and Yemen have nearly four times the population of the United Arab Emirates. Kuwait is using almost 5 million meters cubed per year. 

 

Looking at the water consumption inside versus outside of the countries there is a drastic difference for the United States and each of the countries in the Arabian Peninsula. 20% of the water consumption in the United States is coming externally, and the other countries are using 66%- 89% of their water externally. This statistic is very intriguing, the countries in my sub-region are having to outsource goods such as water, food, and clothes from other countries. Having to rely on other countries for these resources can have many negative effects. 

 

Looking at these statistics, you can compare the amount of water per capita consumed by the countries in my sub-region and the United States, and you can compare the amount of water used internally and externally by each of the countries. Examining the first comparison, the country that stands out is Yemen. Since their average water usage per capita falls well below the average of the rest of the countries It can show several implications. One implication is that usable water is not readily available. Yemen is worse off economically than each of the other countries which is a big factor for why they have a limited supply of usable water. The other two countries in the region use a relatively similar amount of water per capita as the United States. While these other countries have an arid climate and limited water, they are still able to provide adequate resources to their citizens. This is in credit to these countries’ economies and ability to outsource their resources. If their economies were to struggle, one of the direct effects could be the inability to outsource resources such as water and food. If a problem like this occurred, it would most likely lead to migration to other countries if that option was available. There are other outcomes to this, such as public health problems from a lack of clean drinking water and food availability.

Looking at myself and the rest of the United States, individually our water consumption is high in comparison to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait and on a similar level to the United Arab Emirates. It is easy to be pessimistic about future outcomes. Not only is the lack of water in each country apparent with their need to outsource goods, but it is likely that their circumstances could worsen any economic hardships.






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One response to “Water Consumption in the Arabian Peninsula”

  1. Taylor Avatar
    Taylor

    Your comparison of Yemen to the rest of the the peninsula is intriguing because of its lower water usage per capita. One would think that since the rest of the countries in the peninsula, the wealthier gulf states, are more fortunate economically, that they could cooperate to help Yemen with their sustainability practices. When thinking in the future, we have talked about in class how the gulf states have the highest change of being successful in adapting to climate change, but what about Yemen?

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