Environment > Water Stats: compare key data on Belgium & United States
Definitions
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Availability:
Water availability per capita (1961-1990 (avg.))
Units: Thousands Cubic Meters/Person
Units: This variable measures internal renewable water (average annual surface runoff and groundwater recharge generated from endogenous precipitation) -
Dissolved oxygen concentration:
Dissolved oxygen concentration
Units: Milligrams/Liter
Units: The country values represent averages of the station-level values for the three year time period 1994-96, exceptwhere data were only available for an earlier time period (1988-1993). The number of stations per country varies depending on country size; number of bodies of water; and level of participation in the GEMS monitoring system. The data from "The Wellbeing of Nations" included a smaller subset of stations representing outfalls of major watersheds. An analysis of a sample of countries with numerous stations found that the data for stations in the subset is broadly comparable to the data for all GEMS stations in those countries. - Drinking water > Population with improved drinking water sources > Rural: Proportion of the population using improved drinking water sources, rural.
- Drinking water > Population with improved drinking water sources > Urban: Proportion of the population using improved drinking water sources, urban.
- Drinking water > Population with improved drinking water sources > Urban and rural: Proportion of the population using improved drinking water sources, total.
- Drinking water > Population with improved sanitation > Rural: Proportion of the population using improved sanitation facilities, rural.
- Percent of water resources used: Proportion of total water resources used, percentage.
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Phosphorus concentration:
Phosphorus concentration
Units: Milligrams/Liter
Units: The country values represent averages of the station-level values for the three year time period 1994-96, except where data were only available for an earlier time period (1988-1993). The number of stations per country varies depending on country size; number of bodies of water; and level of participation in the GEMS monitoring system. The data from "The Wellbeing of Nations" included a smaller subset of stations representing outfalls of major watersheds. An analysis of a sample of countries with numerous stations found that the data for stations in the subset is broadly comparable to the data for all GEMS stations in those countries. - Population connected to wastewater collecting system: Population connected to wastewater collecting system.
- Population supplied by water supply industry: Total population supplied by water supply industry.
- Proportion of marine area under protection: Marine areas protected to territorial waters, percentage.
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Salinisation:
Electrical conductivity
Units: Micro-Siemens/Centimeter
Units: The country values represent averages of the station-level values for the three year time period 1994-96, except where data were only available for an earlier time period (1988-1993). The number of stations per country varies depending on country size; number of water bodies; and level of participation in the GEMS monitoring system. -
Severe water stress:
Percent of country's territory under severe water stress
Units: Percent of Land Area
Units: This data is derived from the WaterGap 2.1 gridded hydrological model developed by the Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, Germany. The modellers derived, for each country, grid cell by grid cell estimates of whether the water consumption exceeds 40 percent of the water available in that particular grid cell. These were then converted to land area equivalents in order to calculate the percentage of the territory under severe water stress. -
Suspended solids:
Suspended solids
Units: Natural Log of Milligrams/Liter
Units: The country values represent averages of the station-level values for the three year time period 1994-96, exceptwhere data were only available for an earlier time period (1988-1993). The number of stations per country varies depending on country size; number of bodies of water; and level of participation in the GEMS monitoring system. Data from "The Wellbeing of Nations" included a smaller subset of stations representing outfalls of majorwatersheds. An analysis of a sample of countries with numerous stations found that the data for stations in the subset is broadly comparable to the data for all GEMS stations in those countries. The data in this table was transformed using the natural logarithm.
SOURCES: Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, WaterGAP 2.1B, 2001 via ciesin.org; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Environmental Monitoring System/Water Quality Monitoring System, with data for an additional 29 countries from Prescott-Allen,R. The Well being of Nations, Washington, DC: Island Press, 2001; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division Original html; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Global Environmental Monitoring System/Water Quality Monitoring System, with data for an additional 29 countries from Prescott-Allen, R. The Well being of Nations, Washington, DC: Island Press, 2001; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; Center for Environmental Systems Research, University of Kassel, WaterGap 2.1, 2000 via ciesin.org
