What percent of Earth's water is salty?

• A. 3 percent
• B. 97 percent
• C. 50 percent
• D. 0 percent

Answer: (B)

Most of Earth's water is salty because the vast majority sits in the oceans as saltwater. Freshwater—usable for most living things and human use—makes up only about 3% of all Earth's water. Of that small portion, much is locked up in glaciers and ice caps, with the remainder in groundwater, lakes, rivers, soil moisture, and the atmosphere. So, about 97% of Earth's water is salty, while only around 3% is freshwater. The other options aren’t correct because they misstate how much of the total water is freshwater or imply unrealistic splits between saltwater and freshwater.