Explainer: What exactly is freshwater and is there enough of it?

Oct 12, 2022

Only around 3% of water on Earth is freshwater, and the vast majority of that is hard to access - either hidden deep underground or ‘stored’ as ice. Image: Unsplash/ Matt Hardy

Stefan Ellerbeck

Senior Writer, Forum Agenda

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Contaminants such as salts are left behind and the freshwater vapour condenses to form clouds. Image: World Bank.

A graphic showing where the Earth's freshwater is.

Less than 3% of the water on Earth is freshwater. Image: USGS.

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