Fresh water resources account for only about 2.7 percent.

Broadly speaking, water resources refer to the water on the surface of the earth that can be utilized by human beings, while narrowly speaking, water resources are fresh water that can be directly utilized by human beings. Water resources are an important part of natural resources. Seawater accounts for 97.3% of the total reserves of water on Earth, and freshwater accounts for only 2.7%. Icebergs and glaciers account for 77.2% of freshwater resources.

Groundwater and soil water accounted for 22.4%, lakes, swamp water accounted for 0.35%, river water accounted for 0.01%, the atmosphere water accounted for 0.04%. Water is cyclic in nature. The amount of water circulating on the earth is roughly 420,000 cubic kilometers per year, of which about 100,000 cubic kilometers land on land. And then the amount of water flowing into the ocean through the rivers is about 4 to 4.5 million cubic kilometers.

Freshwater Crisis

Water is one of the most prevalent substances in the world, with a total volume of 1.41 billion cubic kilometers, of which only 2% is freshwater. Eighty-seven percent of freshwater is frozen in ice and glaciers at the poles and in high mountains, making it difficult to utilize. Only about 21,000 cubic kilometers of freshwater resources are easily accessible to humans. The uneven distribution of these resources in space and time, coupled with the irrational use of human beings, has led to many regions of the world facing a serious water crisis.

Reference: Baidu Encyclopedia - Freshwater Resources