The graph and table below give information about water use worldwide and water consumption in two different countries.
This essay question is from Cambridge IELTS 6 Test 1 Writing Task 1.
Global water use by sector
Water consumption in Brazil and Congo in 2000
Sample Essay
The line graph shows global water consumption in three different sectors between 1900 and 2000, while the table compares water use in Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000.
Overall, water consumption increased in all three sectors but agriculture consumed far more water than the other two. Brazil was a much bigger water consumer than Congo.
Agriculture remained the most water-consuming industry. It used about 500 km3 of water in 1900 and this number increased dramatically to around 3,000 km3 in 2000. Less than 100 km3 of water was used for either industrial or residential purposes in 1900. Not until around 1950 did water consumption rise significantly, eventually reaching by 2000 roughly 1000 km3 for the former and 500 km3 for the latter.
Brazil had a population of 176 million, an irrigated land area of 26,500 km2, and a per capita water consumption of 359 m3. In comparison, the corresponding figures for Congo were only 5.2 million, 100 km2, and 8 m3. This made Brazil a much larger water user than Congo.
