How do the three primary global human water-use sectors (agriculture, industry and municipal supply) compare in terms of withdrawal and actual water consumption?
These values vary somewhat from country to country and from the less developed to more developed countries. In general, about 70% of the water withdrawn from freshwater sources globally supports agriculture while about 20% supports industrial activities and 10% is used for municipal supplies. Water withdrawal and consumption are not the same and a much greater percentage of the water withdrawn for agriculture is actually consumed as irrigation water to support domesticated plant growth while a much smaller percentage of water withdrawn to support industrial and municipal supply is actually consumed and rendered unavailable for other uses. Worldwide, about 93% of the water consumed by humans goes to irrigated agriculture while about 4% and 3%, respectively, are consumed by industry and municipal uses.
