Global Water Conflicts: 1992 - June 2025

Water scarcity and competition have triggered, fueled, or intensified over 1,900 conflicts worldwide since 1992, with the frequency and severity of incidents rising sharply in the past decade.
Sources: Pacific Institute, Statista, UN, Al Jazeera, ScienceDirect, Wikipedia, World Water, Wiley, Water Conflict Chronology Map

Global Water-Related Conflicts by Decade (1992-2025)

900 0 1992-1999 2000-2009 2010-2019 2020-2024*

Water conflicts have increased dramatically: 785+ events since 2020, already 27% higher than the entire previous decade (2010-2019).
Pacific Institute, Statista

  • 1992-1999: ~110 incidents
  • 2000-2009: ~240 incidents
  • 2010-2019: 620 incidents
  • 2020-June 2025: 785+ incidents (projected to exceed 900 by end of 2025)
  • Total since 1992: Over 1,900 incidents catalogued globally

Regional Hotspots and Major Trends (1992-2025)

Middle East Africa South Asia US Latin America Central Asia

Hotspots: Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Central Asia, US, Latin America.
Pacific Institute, UN

  • Middle East: Tigris-Euphrates, Jordan, Nile, Israel-Palestine, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Yemen, Saudi Arabia
  • Central Asia: Aral Sea, Amu Darya, Syr Darya, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
  • South Asia: Indus, Ganges, Brahmaputra, India-Pakistan, India-Bangladesh, India-Nepal, India-China
  • Africa: Nile, Niger, Lake Chad, Ethiopia-Egypt-Sudan, Mali, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa
  • Latin America: Amazon, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Chile, Peru
  • United States: Colorado, Rio Grande, California, Georgia-Tennessee, Great Lakes, Des Moines, Flint

Major Water Conflict Flashpoints (1992-2025)

Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran)

  • Turkey’s GAP project (20 dams, 19 hydropower plants) reduced downstream flow by 50%, sparking decades of disputes and environmental crises in Syria and Iraq.
  • Water used as a weapon: Saddam Hussein drained the Mesopotamian Marshes (1990s); ISIS seized Mosul Dam (2014); repeated infrastructure attacks in regional wars.

Nile Basin (Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia)

  • Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD): Ongoing standoff between Ethiopia (dam builder), Egypt (downstream, existential threat), and Sudan.
  • 2020-2025: No binding agreement; repeated threats of military action; UN mediation ongoing.

Mekong Basin (China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar)

  • China built 11+ dams upstream, causing record-low water levels, ecological disruption, and diplomatic tensions (especially 2018-2024).

Aral Sea Crisis (Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan)

  • Soviet-era irrigation diverted Amu Darya and Syr Darya, causing the Aral Sea to shrink by 90% (1990s-2010s); led to mass displacement and regional disputes.

Israel-Palestine-Jordan (Jordan River, Gaza, West Bank)

  • Ongoing disputes over Jordan River allocation; water blockades and infrastructure attacks in Gaza (notably 2014, 2021, 2023-2024).

United States: Colorado River, Rio Grande, and Local Conflicts

  • Colorado River: Chronic over-allocation and drought; 2022-2025: states negotiate new water-sharing rules under federal threat.
  • Rio Grande: 2024 Supreme Court case (Texas v. New Mexico) over groundwater and river allocation; ongoing drought-driven disputes.
  • Flint, Michigan: 2014-2019 water contamination crisis; Des Moines Water Works (Iowa) nitrate lawsuit (2015-2017); Georgia-Tennessee border dispute; Great Lakes diversions.

Types of Water Conflicts (Pacific Institute Classification)

  • Trigger: Disputes directly over control or access to water (e.g., Nile, Indus, Colorado River)
  • Weapon: Water systems used as a weapon (e.g., dam destruction, poisoning, blockades; Syria, Gaza, Ukraine)
  • Casualty: Water resources/systems become targets or collateral damage (e.g., bombing of dams, sabotage, pollution)

Snapshot (1992-June 2025)

  • 1,900+ water conflict incidents catalogued globally since 1992
  • 785+ incidents since 2020 (27% higher than 2010-2019)
  • 11% of 2023-2025 incidents: water used as a weapon
  • 38% of 2023-2025 incidents: transboundary (involving more than one country)
  • 2.2 billion people lack safely managed drinking water (2024)
  • 1.8 billion live in regions of absolute water scarcity (<500 m³/person/year)
  • 50%+ increase in violent water-related incidents since 2022
  • Over 300 international water treaties in force, but many remain fragile

Data Sources

  • Pacific Institute Water Conflict Chronology (2024)
  • Statista: Water Conflicts (2025)
  • UN World Water Development Report 2024, Al Jazeera
  • ScienceDirect: Dynamic Processes of Water Conflicts
  • Wiley: Water in War

Global Water Conflicts: Data Overview Dashboard