Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 6.4.1: Change in water use efficiency over time.

Globally, Water Use efficiency (WUE) rose from 17.47 USD/m3 in 2015 to 21.50 USD/m3 in 2022, marking a 23 percent efficiency increase (Figure 15). Oceania and Europe and Northern America remained the most water efficient regions, with WUE levels of 71.71 USD/m3 and 54.64 USD/ m3 , respectively (Figure 16). However, Eastern, Central and Southern Asia recorded the highest growth in WUE between 2015 and 2022, with increases of 51.32 percent, 46.25 percent and 34.13 percent respectively. In contrast, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a slight decline in WUE, decreasing by 0.47 percent over the same period.

At the sectoral level, agriculture exhibited the lowest Water Use Efficiency (WUE) among economic sectors. In 2022, the global average WUE for agriculture was 0.69 USD/m3 , significantly lower than that of the industrial sector (38.43 USD/m3 ) and the service sector (114.45 USD/m3 ). However, agriculture recorded the largest improvement in Water Use Efficiency over the period from 2015 to 2022, increasing from 0.50 USD/m3 to 0.69 USD/m3 , a 38 percent increase. In comparison, the industrial sector saw a 34.87 percent rise, and the service sector improved by 9 percent during the same period (Figure 17).

In the agricultural sector, Eastern, Central and Southern Asia recorded the largest increases in Water Use Efficiency (WUE) between 2015 and 2022, with gains of 62.4 percent, 50.55 percent and 49.59 percent, respectively. In contrast, Western Asia was the only region to experience a decline in Water Use Efficiency for the sector, with a drop of 11.43 percent, with the indicator falling from 0.39 USD/m3 in 2015 to 0.34 USD/m3 in 2022. Europe and Northern America showed the smallest improvement, with agricultural Water Use Efficiency increasing by just 1.6 percent over the same period (Figure 18).