The United States is the single biggest consumer of the world’s $50 billion annual bottled-water market in 2006.
Posted by envirostats on Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Of the other top four national consumers - Brazil, China, and Mexico - only the US has universally reliable tap water.
However, only Mexicans consumed more bottled water than Americans as per analysis and source below for 2005, but which would not have changed enough to conclude otherwise for 2006.
Data for the years 2000 and 2005 appear below for comparison (no such data for 2006 could be found). Note that while on the whole, the United States consumed the most bottled water, Italians consumed the most per capita, followed by Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, all above the American rate. Note also China at just a mere 9.9 L per person but having a high aggregate total due to its immense population. [Envirostats author]
- Headline statistic and clean water availability from Fast Company, July 2007, with data table from the International Bottled Water Association, posted by the Worldwatch Institute
