ROME, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Italy lost 3.4 billion cubic meters, or 42.4 percent, of potable water from distribution networks in 2022, the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) said on Friday, the World Water Day.

This roughly equals the annual water consumption of 43.4 million people, the organization said.

ISTAT blames the water losses -- which represent a deterioration from a 42.2 percent water loss recorded in 2020 -- on "the persistent state of inefficiency of many distribution networks."

According to ISTAT, there is room for improvement in Italy, where per capita water consumption stands at 155 cubic meters per year. This makes Italy the third biggest consumer of potable water in the European Union (EU) after Ireland and Greece.

The World Water Day is a global initiative promoted by the United Nations (UN) since 1993 to raise awareness of this key natural resource and to encourage action to tackle the global water crisis.

Decreasing water losses and water consumption would also be necessary for meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which calls for making water and sanitation available and sustainable for all people on the planet by 2030.

According to the UN, globally some 2.2 billion people still live without access to safe water. Enditem

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