The country’s overall Water Use Efficiency (WUE) in 2023 was recorded at PhP 222.81 per cubic meter of water used. This was an increase of 5.6 percent from the PhP 211.05 per cubic meter of water used in 2022.

During the same period, the Services sector continued to account for the highest WUE at PhP 1,377.21 per cubic meter of water used, followed by the Industry and Agriculture sectors with WUEs of PhP 441.04 per cubic meter of water used and PhP 15.81 per cubic meter of water used, respectively. (Figure 1 and Table 3)

The total freshwater withdrawals increased to 91.20 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2023 from 91.04 bcm in 2022. The level of water stress reached 27.9 percent in 2023. The annual level of water stress from 2014 to 2023 consistently fell within the low-level classification range set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of 25 to 50 percent. (Figure 2 and Table 4)

The Water Accounts of the Philippines, which is compiled annually by the Environment and Natural Resources Accounts Division of the Macroeconomic Accounts Service, provides indicators such as water use efficiency and water stress as well as water abstraction and water expenses of different sectors. The supply and use of water resources follow the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) 2012 Central Framework which was adopted as an international statistical standard and is aligned with the System of National Accounts.

DIVINA GRACIA L. DEL PRADO, PhD     
Assistant Secretary     
Deputy National Statistician     
Sectoral Statistics Office