The main causes of water scarcity in Africa are physical and economic water scarcity, rapid population growth, and the effects of climate change on the water cycle. Water scarcity is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. The rainfall in sub-Saharan Africa is highly seasonal and unevenly distributed, leading to frequent floods and droughts.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported in 2012 that growing water scarcity is now one of the leading challenges for sustainable development. This is because an increasing number of river basins have reached conditions of water scarcity. The reasons for this are the combined demands of agriculture and other sectors. Water scarcity in Africa has several impacts. They range from health, particularly affecting women and children, to education, agricultural productivity and sustainable development. It can also lead to more water conflicts. To adequately address the issue of water scarcity in Africa, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa emphasizes the need to invest in the development of Africa's potential water resources. This would improve food security and water security, and protect economic gains by effectively managing droughts, floods and desertification.
Scale
Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest number of water-stressed countries of any other place on the planet and of an estimated 800 million people who live in Africa, 300 million live in a water-stressed environment. In 2012, it was estimated that by 2030, 75 million to 250 million people in Africa will be living in areas of high water stress. This would will likely displace anywhere between 24 million and 700 million people as conditions become increasingly unlivable. Africa is the second driest continent in the world, with millions of Africans still suffering from water shortages throughout the year. These shortages are attributed to problems of uneven distribution, population growth and poor management of existing supplies. Sometimes there are smaller numbers of people residing where there is large amount of water. For example, 30 percent of the continent's water lies in the Congo Basin inhabited by only 10 percent of Africa's population. There is significant variation in the rainfall patterns observed in different places and time. There is also high evaporation rates in some parts of the region resulting in lower percentages of precipitation in such places. However, there is very significant inter- and intra-annual variability of all climate and water resources characteristics, so while some regions have sufficient water, sub-Saharan Africa faces numerous water-related challenges that constrain economic growth and threaten the livelihoods of its people. African agriculture is mostly based on rain-fed farming, and less than 10% of cultivated land in the continent is irrigated. The impact of climate change and variability is thus very pronounced.
Scale As of the mid-2020s, water scarcity directly impacts approximately one in three African citizens. Data indicates that over 411 million people across the continent lack access to safe drinking water, while roughly 56% of African households experience routine water shortages. The compounding effects of rapid population growth and climate-induced droughts have placed close to 230 million Africans under conditions of severe water scarcity, with up to 460 million individuals residing in water-stressed regions. Furthermore, infrastructure deficits require sub-Saharan residents to travel an average of 30 minutes daily to secure basic water access.
Examples
Ghana
Economic water scarcity in Ghana is heavily driven by illegal small-scale gold mining, locally referred to as galamsey. This activity has caused severe chemical and heavy silt pollution across major river basins, including the Bonsa, Pra, and Ayensu rivers. In January 2025, the national utility provider, Ghana Water Limited, suspended operations at the Tarkwa treatment plant due to extreme turbidity levels caused by mining activities along the River Bonsa; this facility typically supplies approximately 75% of the region's potable water. Similar emergency shutdowns due to high turbidity occurred later in 2025 at the Kwanyako Headworks situated along the Ayensu River, illustrating how unregulated environmental degradation directly disrupts domestic utility infrastructure. According to the Water Resources Commission of Ghana, over 60% of water bodies in mining regions are now considered polluted due to these activities. Waste management practices that lead to the dumping of plastics and sewage into water sources, these issues increase the water crisis, endangering both human health and biodiversity.
Nigeria In Nigeria, economic water scarcity is prominently exemplified by the urban infrastructure deficits within the Lagos megacity. With a municipal population exceeding 24 million, public distribution networks managed by the Lagos Water Corporation remain highly inadequate relative to overall demand. To compensate for the deficit in piped infrastructure, residents have drilled an estimated 200,000 private boreholes across the metropolitan area. This widespread and unregulated extraction has led to heavy groundwater over-abstraction, accelerating coastal saltwater intrusion into freshwater aquifers. Additionally, shallow aquifers face extensive contamination from nearby septic systems and unlined landfills, which contributed directly to public health emergencies such as the late 2024 cholera outbreak that recorded over 4,600 cases across the region.
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