Water Scarcity:
A Global Crisis
4.4 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, an urgent crisis demanding immediate sustainable solutions.
The Global Water Crisis: A Growing Challenge That Affects Us All
Water is essential to life, yet billions of people struggle with water scarcity, contamination, and lack of access to safe drinking water. As demand rises and resources become more strained, the global water crisis is no longer a distant issue; it is an urgent reality threatening economies, public health, and ecosystems worldwide.
The Human Cost of the Water Crisis
Every morning, 12-year-old Amina walks four miles to fetch water from a dried-up well in her village. The journey is exhausting, and the water she collects is dirty, but it’s the only option. Like Amina, millions of women and children worldwide spend hours each day searching for water instead of attending school or earning a living.
The numbers tell a devastating story:
- 4.4 billion people lack access to safe drinking water
(Greenwood et al., 2024).² - 200 million hours are spent daily collecting water instead of going to school or working (World Vision, 2024).⁴
This is more than a crisis; it’s a barrier to education, health, and economic progress.
Economic and Social Impact
- By 2030, 700 million people could be displaced due to water shortages (UNICEF, 2025).³
- Women & children spend 200 million hours every day collecting water instead of going to school or working (World Vision, 2025).⁴
- If urgent action is not taken, the global water crisis could result in economic losses of up to $8 trillion over the next 25 years (Global Commission on the Economics of Water, 2024).⁷
Health Impact
- More than 1,000 children under 5 die every day from diseases related to lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (World Vision, 2024).⁴
- In 2022, 2 billion people lacked access to basic handwashing facilities at home, including 653 million with no handwashing facilities (UNICEF, 2023).⁶
The Future of Water Demand
- More than 1,000 children under 5 die every day from diseases related to lack of safe water, sanitation, and hygiene (World Vision, 2024).⁴
Environmental and Infrastructure Challenges
- 71% of the world’s aquifers are declining, with 30% experiencing rapid depletion, threatening future water security (Gleeson et al., 2023).⁸
- Globally, only 4.2% of wastewater in low-income countries is treated, compared to 74% in high-income countries (Jones et al., 2021).⁹
Water Scarcity and Accessibility
- 4.4 billion people, more than half the world’s population, lack access to safe drinking water (Greenwood et al., 2024).²
- 4 billion people experience severe water scarcity for at least one month yearly (UNICEF, 2025).³
- 703 million people have no access to clean drinking water. That’s 1 in 10 people on the planet (World Vision, 2024).⁴
- Only 0.5% of Earth’s water is available for human use (USGS, 2025).⁵
Why Is the World Running Out of Water?
Water scarcity is driven by multiple factors, making it one of the most complex crises humanity faces:
Limited Freshwater Supply: Only 0.5% of Earth’s water is accessible for human use, with 97% being saline and 2.5% being ice caps and glaciers. This natural scarcity makes sustainable water management crucial.
Climate Change: Rising global temperatures and unpredictable weather patterns cause frequent droughts and floods, reducing freshwater availability.
Overuse & Demand: Agriculture consumes 70% of the world’s freshwater, and inefficient irrigation depletes resources faster than they can be replenished.
Pollution & Contamination: Industrial waste, agricultural runoff, and poor sanitation contaminate vital water sources, leaving millions without safe drinking water.
Infrastructure Gaps: Many developing regions lack proper water treatment and distribution systems, leading to unreliable access and increased health risks.
Economic & Social Inequality: Low-income communities are disproportionately affected, often paying higher costs for water or relying on unsafe sources.
Why Traditional Water Solutions Are Failing
Despite advancements in water technology, many conventional solutions still fall short of meeting global demand. Groundwater depletion is accelerating, with aquifers being drained faster than they can naturally recharge, pushing many regions toward severe water stress. Pollution from industrial discharge, agricultural runoff, and inadequate sanitation continues to contaminate essential water sources, making clean water increasingly scarce. Rainwater harvesting remains unreliable as climate change brings prolonged droughts and unpredictable rainfall.
While traditional desalination holds promise, its high energy costs and infrastructure requirements limit accessibility beyond wealthier nations. Many emerging technologies struggle to scale efficiently. These challenges highlight the urgent need for innovative, scalable, and energy-efficient water solutions. This is where Rainmaker delivers impact, offering advanced systems designed to meet global water needs across industries and communities.
From Water Crisis to Water Security: Rainmaker’s Mission
Water insecurity affects billions worldwide, but real solutions exist. As groundwater depletion accelerates and pollution makes traditional water sources unreliable, the demand for clean water has never been greater. Rainmaker delivers scalable, sustainable water technologies that have a real-world impact on communities facing severe water shortages.
From Air to Ocean: Converting Diverse Sources into Safe Drinking Water: Our cutting-edge technologies, including Air-to-Water system and water purification solutions (R/OCell®), transform humidity, sea water, ocean water, brackish, well, and contaminated water into clean, safe drinking water where it is needed most. These solutions provide reliable access to potable water in even the most water-stressed environments.
Reusing Water Through Advanced Wastewater Treatment: Our Miracell® technology treats wastewater for safe and efficient reuse in many non-potable applications. By enabling the reuse of water that would otherwise be lost, we extend valuable water resources and support long-term sustainability across communities and sectors.
Scalable, Energy-Efficient Solutions for Every Community: Designed to be decentralized, modular, and energy-efficient, our water and wastewater systems serve the needs of remote communities, urban centers, and regions impacted by disaster, without requiring large-scale infrastructure.
Proven Global Impact: With more than 1,200 systems deployed across over 40 countries, Rainmaker and Miranda are strengthening water security around the world by empowering communities, supporting economic development, and building resilience.
The time for action is now.
Water scarcity is intensifying. Through innovation and commitment, we can secure access to clean, safe water for future generations. Join the movement to end water scarcity.
See How Rainmaker Is Transforming Access To Clean Water.Footnotes:
¹Population Matters. (2024). Dried up futures: How population growth is driving drought, land degradation, and desertification [Map]. Data source: World Bank. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Retrieved from https://populationmatters.org/news/2024/06/dried-up-futures-drought-and-desertification/.
Adapted from Population Matters (2024), based on data from the World Bank, under CC BY 4.0. Colors modified for visual clarity.
²Greenwood, E. E., Lauber, T., Donmez, A., Bain, R. E. S., Johnston, R., Crowther, T. W., & Julian, T. R. (2024). Mapping safe drinking water use in low- and middle-income countries. Science. https://doi.org/adh9578
³UNICEF. (2025). Water scarcity: Addressing the growing global crisis. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/wash/water-scarcity
⁴World Vision. (2024). The global water crisis: Facts, FAQs, and how to help. Retrieved from https://www.worldvision.org/clean-water-news-stories/global-water-crisis-facts
⁵United States Geological Survey. (n.d.). The distribution of water on, in, and above the Earth. U.S. Department of the Interior. Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/distribution-water-and-above-earth
⁶United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). (2023). Hygiene: Global progress on handwashing facilities at home. Retrieved from https://data.unicef.org/topic/water-and-sanitation/hygiene/
⁷Global Commission on the Economics of Water. (2024). Global water crisis: Economic risks and solutions. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/16/global-water-crisis-food-production-at-risk
⁸Gleeson, T., Cuthbert, M. O., Ferguson, G., & Perrone, D. (2023). Global trends in groundwater depletion: Implications for future water security. Nature, 621(7964), 879-888. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06879-8
⁹Jones, E. M., Smith, L. R., Patel, R., & Zhao, Y. (2021). Global wastewater treatment disparities: Trends and challenges in managing water resources. Earth System Science Data, 13(3), 237-250. https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/13/237/2021/
¹⁰United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). (2024). World Population Prospects 2024: Global demographic projections. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/