Published 2026-06-03 · data 2023 · percent of major aquifers assessed
A quarter of aquifers are overstressed
Groundwater buffers drought — until pumping outpaces recharge. Hotspots span India, China, and the US High Plains.
Groundwater is drought insurance for farms and cities — until pumping outpaces recharge. In 2023, an estimated 25% of major aquifers assessed were over-exploited or stressed, with hotspots across India, China, and the US High Plains. Where withdrawals outrun renewable supply, water tables fall and the hidden buffer shrinks.
1 cell = 0.1 percent of major aquifers assessed (0.1% of groundwater aquifers) · 1,000 cells
Context
Water stress compares freshwater withdrawals against renewable resources; above 100%, a basin is being drained faster than rainfall can refill it — what the FAO calls critical stress. Much of the Middle East and North Africa sits in that zone, while Northern Europe, Canada, and much of Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa remain low-stress.
Demand is concentrated where it hurts: agriculture takes roughly 70% of global freshwater withdrawals, and India, China, and the United States are the world's three largest withdrawers. India's agricultural water use nearly doubled between 1975 and 2010 as population and food demand grew.
Global freshwater use has risen roughly six-fold since 1900, climbing steeply from the 1950s before plateauing after 2000. The aquifer shares shown here draw on NASA GRACE and IGRAC groundwater stress estimates for 2023, rounded.
NASA GRACE / IGRAC groundwater stress estimates, rounded.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-06-03-groundwater-stress