Spatial and sectoral water demand assessment for the African continent.

Estimated total annual water demand across Africa in 2020 is 347 km³, with irrigation dominating at 225 km³ (65%) across high-resolution spatial sectors and subsectors.

• Why it matters: Incomplete characterization of where and which sectors drive unmet water needs limits informed water-management decisions across the continent.
• What they did: The study harmonizes heterogeneous datasets and modeling assumptions to estimate 2020 demand across six sectors at high spatial resolution, reporting sector totals and uncertainty ranges (e.g., irrigation 214–233 km³, 95% confidence interval).
• The result: Demand is linked to spatial and socioeconomic patterns, rising 26% from 2010 to 2020, and in some northern and southern regions estimated demand exceeds water availability depending on environmental-flow protection assumptions.