Map Exercises with Answers

Access to Safe Water, 1990-96

1. Study the map and answer the following questions:

1. According to the Map key, which color represents the countries with the lowest percentage of people with access to safe water? [orange] Which color represents the highest? [green]
2. Which region of the world has the lowest percentage of people with access to safe water? [Sub-Saharan Africa] The next lowest? [Asia (South and East) and the Pacific]

2. Find Brazil, China, Morocco, and Nigeria on the Map. Compare the color of each country with those of its neighbors. To what extent is each country typical of conditions in its area and region? [Brazil, China, and Nigeria are fairly typical of their regions; Morocco is less typical.] Make a general statement comparing the six regions. [Possible answer: People in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia (South and East) and the Pacific tend to have less access to safe water than people in other areas of the world.]

3. What might social and economic conditions be like in the areas with the lowest percentage of access to safe water? [Answers will vary. Possible answers: Many people are probably poor and often sick. It is likely that they also lack adequate sanitation facilities.]