13 Most Water Polluted Countries with the Worst Pollution in the World

The consequences of water pollution are often horrendous for the environment and people alike, and the most water polluted countries with the worst pollution in the world are definitely no stranger to that fact.

So what exactly are the harmful effects of water pollution that everyone keeps harping on about? Well, adulterated water is the breeding ground for water-borne diseases. While drinking such water can cause diarrhea, hepatitis, cancer or sometimes even death, using corrupted water for washing bodies or clothes can cause various skin diseases as well. And let’s not be nonchalant about the environment: the impact of water pollution on aquatic creatures is tremendous. Polluted water is sure to give them diseases or kill them.

Water pollution in the world today has reached inexplicable heights. I mean just look at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, colloquially known as Garbage Island, a name given to tiny bits of plastic congregated in a general area to form trails of trash. So where is this pollution happening? Maybe we should be blaming this phenomenon on the countries on our list, as they are where the worst water pollution in the world can be found.

To compile our list, we did heavy research on various countries. First, we looked for the countries with the most polluted rivers using sources such as World Atlas and Soapboxie, among others. Then, we scoured the Internet for the worst water contamination disasters to occur around the world, where All About Water Filters and Allianz came in super handy. We also considered the biggest producers of water pollution. The countries so compiled were then looked into more deeply and individually, and ranked based on the number and scale of water pollution disasters we could find. We also took into account the health effects on citizens of the water pollution prevalent in the country. If, however, you are looking for a list of water-poor countries, that is to say, nations ranked by percentage of the population using improved water sources, then go on ahead to our piece on the 13 countries with least access to clean water. By that criterion, the infamous Afghanistan water pollution actually translates to lack of access to clean water or scarcity of water in general.

Interestingly the most air polluted country in the world which is Saudi Arabia, closely followed by Qatar, is not among the most water polluted. While air pollution and water pollution are quite different, air pollution is usually used as a measure to determine the most polluted country in the world as well. For most water polluted countries with the worst pollution in the world, however, read on ahead:

13. Germany

Germany has been in quite some trouble recently as its groundwater and surface water indicate a high level of nitrates. The water possessed nitrates much above the legal limit in Germany. This pollution has been blamed on farmers and their fertilizers. However, this is in addition to water being contaminated with sodium hydroxide in 2015 in a German town, exposing around 50,000 people.

12. Bangladesh

Bangladesh has long since suffered due to arsenic contamination of water. About 20 million people in the nation are using arsenic-contaminated tube wells as a water source. While arsenic poisoning through drinking water is considered a global threat, Bangladesh’s open latrines and untreated waste coupled with arsenic contamination have resulted in severe water pollution, what puts this country on our list of most water polluted countries with the worst pollution in the world.

11. Pakistan

Waterborne diseases are a norm in Pakistan, and as much as 40% of deaths that occur in the country are directly or indirectly attributed to water pollution! As per our source, 62% of urban and 84% of the rural population are using untreated water, making it no surprise that hospitals are teeming with diarrhea cases on a daily basis. Furthermore, like Bangladesh, arsenic contamination in water supply exposes around 60 million people in the country.

10. Zimbabwe

In 2012, a study conducted of the water present in the Save, Odzi and Singwizi Rivers showed that it was heavily corrupted by chromium and nickel, leaving citizens exposed to cholera and typhoid among other illnesses. The pollution is thought to be due to diamond mining businesses that have been using these rivers as a source to discharge their wastewater.

9. Ghana

Ghana happens to be the country which arguably suffered the worst water contamination incident in Africa in the year 2001 when thousands of cubic meters of mine wastewater spilled into River Asuman. A strong reason to for this country to end up on our lsit of most water polluted countries with the worst pollution in the world, right? The water was tainted with cyanide and other harmful metals, that are known to have long-term effects on human health. Other cyanide spills have also occurred in the nation since them, one as recent as 2006.

8. Brazil

The Guanabara Bay has been the biggest victim of water pollution disasters in Brazil. The worst incident that occurred was in 2000 when 340,000 gallons of water were released into the Bay causing many species of fish to go extinct. The fishing industry that was previously thriving in the area suffered huge blows as 4,000 of 6,000 fishermen had to scavenge for other sources of income, due to lack of adequate catch.

7. Philippines

The Philippines is home to two of the most polluted rivers in the world, namely the Pasig River and the Marilao River, but that’s not it. 50 rivers in the country are considered dead, mostly because of the disaster that is the sewage system of this country. Most waste material from septic tanks drains into rivers without any treatment, leaving the population exposed and making Philippines one of the most water polluted countries with the worst pollution in the world.

6. Nigeria

Nigeria suffers from oil spills way more often than necessary and does not even have the resources to ameliorate the damage. According to Human Rights Watch, 300 separate incidents of oil spillage occur on a yearly basis. These accidents have had quite an impact on the Niger Delta leaving it polluted, corrupting water sources and killing fish.

5. Indonesia

Why is this country on our list of most water polluted countries with the worst pollution in the world, you wonder? Well, Indonesia’s Citarum River is the most polluted river on the Earth and looks more like a junkyard than anything else. It is an environmental disaster all on its own being home to untreated sewage with plastic floating all over the surface and acting as a dumpster for hundreds of factories. The water pollution prevalent in this country is evident from the fact that demand for water purifiers has gone up in recent times.

4. Japan

We have all heard of incidents of spills but radioactive water spilling into the sea constantly over the course of six years? That’s a big one. Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant has been dropping radioactive waste into the ocean ever since the tsunami in 2011 when “the largest single contribution of radionuclides to the marine environment” was observed. In fact it was reported in 2016 that the leak will continue for four more years, which is just as worrying for the US as it is for Japan as the contaminated water has reached the shores of America as well.

3. United States of America

The US has had its fair share of water pollution disasters. That’s why it’s on our list of most water polluted countries with the worst pollution in the world. To name a few major ones out of: The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010 that released 5 million barrels of oil into the sea and killed 11 people, the Elk River chemical spill in 2014 that injured more than 150 people, the wastewater spill from Gold King Mine that turned the Animas River yellow, and the 1993 disease outbreak in Milwaukee caused by parasites that entered water treatment plants and caused many illnesses including more than a hundred deaths.

2. China

The industrial giant that is China has had innumerable water pollution disasters what with 10,000 dead pigs found in Huangpu River in 2013 (!) to the oil spill in the Yellow Sea in 2010 to name a few. Not to mention the Chaohu Lake, which is infested with so many algae, that it has literally turned into a neon green color. The constant flow of artificially warm water into the lake by factories has caused “thermal pollution,” making algae thrive while killing the creatures within the waters.

1. India

A country where, astoundingly, one in two people defecate in the open, is bound to have its waters contaminated to the point of being disease-ridden. While that’s bad enough, it’s not the only reason that this populated nation has ended up on our list. Yamuna River, which was once described by a Mughal Emperor as “better than nectar”, happens to be clogged with garbage, dumped with sewage and infected with chemicals to a disgusting extent. This is indeed a source of various types of organ damage, cancer, and other deleterious diseases. Not to mention Ranipet, India where a chromium factory left water so polluted in 1995 that it has still not recovered, causing India to become number one on our list of 13 most water polluted countries with the worst pollution in the world.