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Top 5 Countries Richest in Freshwater Reserves

These five countries—Brazil, Russia, Canada, the United States, and China—hold nearly half of the world’s freshwater reserves, shaping global water security and sustainability.

October 07, 2025 / 14:26 IST
Top 5 Countries Richest in Freshwater Reserves

Freshwater constitutes only a small portion of the total water supply on the earth, and yet, it supports life, agriculture and industry on the planet. Only approximately 2.5 per cent of the total water is fresh water, er and even that is not readily available. Certain countries are largely endowed with enormous deposits of the resource, and thus, they are important contributors to global water security.

Brazil
Brazil leads the list by holding almost 12-13 per cent of the total freshwater resources in the globe. The bulk of this is as a result of the Amazon Basin, which has thousands of rivers, streams and wetlands alone. The fresh water cycle in Brazil is sustained by the rainfall that is abundant rainfall, the dense forests and the high density of the aquifers in Brazil.

Russia
In the second place, Russia holds approximately 10 per cent of the global fresh water. The Siberian region alone contains massive lakes and rivers, such as Lake Baikal, the deepest as well as the oldest freshwater lake in the world. These water bodies are maintained in cold climates and low population density.

Canada
Canada is the third in terms of freshwater, with approximately 7 per cent of the world. It has extensive lake systems, glaciers and rivers, which are all located throughout the country. Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and many other rivers in the north make Canada one of the cleanest and most rich freshwater regions in the world.

United States
The U.S. has approximately 6-7 per cent of the world's freshwater, which is distributed in lakes, rivers, and groundwater. The Great Lakes and the Mississippi River Basin are of importance. Nevertheless, water stress in the regions is also a factor - the east has no shortage, whereas the western states experience dry seasons and exhausted groundwater sources.

China
The fifth is China, which has almost 6-7 per cent of the freshwater available in the world. Many rivers, such as the Yangtze and Yellow, as well as hundreds of lakes, support millions of people. However, this situation of uneven distribution between the south and the north has placed water management as a priority in the country.

All five nations have more renewable freshwater than is in excess of 45 per cent worldwide. How they manage conservation, usage, and sustainability will determine the water future of the planet during the decades to come.

Nivritti Khatri
first published: Oct 7, 2025 02:26 pm

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