Maplecroft’s Water Security Risk Index was developed to identify risks to the supply chains and operations of multinational companies. The index uses seven indicators to measure the four key areas surrounding the issue. These include: access to improved drinking water and sanitation; the availability of renewable water and the reliance on external supplies; the relationship between available water and supply demands; and the water dependency of each country’s economy.

In all, ten nations have been rated as extreme risk, the most being Somalia, then Mauritania, Sudan, Niger, Iraq, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkmenistan and Syria.

According to the report, Somalia has the least access to improved drinking water, with only 30% of the country having reliable supplies; Mauritania is nearly 97% dependant on external water supplies, whilst only 26% of Sudanese have access to improved sanitation. Fourth placed Niger is 90% reliant on external water supplies and is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis partly caused by drought last year, which contributed to the failure of crops. The country also has the worst rating for access to improved sanitation with only 9% accessibility for the population.

Countries in the extreme risk category, including the emerging economies of Pakistan, Egypt and Uzbekistan, are already experiencing internal and cross-border tensions due to limited water resources. Furthermore, as the global climate changes, water stress is predicted to become more acute in these regions and has the potential to threaten stability.

Dr Anna Moss, environmental analyst at Maplecroft said: “Climate change and increasing demands from population growth will cause a worsening of water stress over the coming decades. Conflict is likely to spread and intensify as a result of a lack of water security and for the countries that are heavily reliant upon external supplies the issue of water may become critical.”

The countries with the most stable supplies of clean water include Iceland (165), Norway (164) and New Zealand (163). Other low risk countries include the UK (144) and Brazil (148).