Papua New Guinea: World's most expensive place to buy water

Water shortage

Data released by the World Health Organisation in 2015 shows that about 650 million people do not have access to safe drinking water.

Some 650 million people, or one in 10 of the world's population, do not have access to safe water: https://t.co/nVnUxNinQm
— Thomson Reuters (@thomsonreuters) March 18, 2016

Papua New Guinea is the most difficult and expensive place in the world to access clean water, forcing the poor to spend more than half their income on this essential resource, a charity said on Tuesday.

Papua New Guinea has the lowest % of households with access to clean water #stateofwater https://t.co/Mo0MuKbsSN pic.twitter.com/mo0OVSGV5Y
— WaterAid America (@WaterAidAmerica) March 22, 2016

WHO also said that lack of access to an affordable, convenient source of clean water is one of the biggest barriers to escaping a life of poverty and disease.

According to a United Nations report released on Tuesday, an estimated three out of four jobs globally are dependent on water, meaning that shortages and lack of access are likely to limit economic growth in the coming decades.