In most African states, water belongs to the public domain with rights to use water granted by the state or local authorities. Brazil has the highest volume of renewable fresh water resources globally while Canada holds 20% of the world’s freshwater supply.
World Water Market and Ownership
European corporations dominate the global water market. The largest are French companies Suez and Vivendi Universal. These two control over 70 percent of the existing world water market.
Ownership of Water Utilities
Most Americans are served by publicly owned water and sewer utilities. Water consumption in the United States is more than double that in Central Europe.
Water privatization has ended in over 100 countries, with 14 cases in Africa and 12 in Latin America.
The ten poorest countries in terms of water resources per person are: Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Malta, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
The global bottled water market is valued at $342.4 billion. About 50 billion bottles of water are purchased yearly in the U.S.
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