The Philippines’ water stress level rose to 28.5 percent in 2024 from 27.9 percent in 2023, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The PSA’s Water Accounts of the Philippines released on Friday showed that the ratio of freshwater withdrawal to available supply has consistently fallen within the low-level classification range of 25 percent to 50 percent set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) since 2015.
Data also showed that the total freshwater withdrawals increased to 93.08 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2024 from 91.20 bcm in 2023.
The country’s overall water use efficiency (WUE) in 2024 was recorded at P231.36 per cubic meter of water used. This was an increase of 3.9 percent from P222.75 per cubic meter of water used in 2023.
The services sector accounted for the highest WUE at P1,453.94 per cubic meter of water used. This was followed by the industry and agriculture sectors, with WUEs of P392.89 and P15.92 per cubic meter of water used, respectively.
The Water Accounts provide indicators such as water use efficiency and water stress, as well as water abstraction and water expenses of different sectors. The supply and use of water resources follow the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting 2012 Central Framework, which was adopted as an international statistical standard and is aligned with the System of National Accounts.
