The ocean holds 97 percent of all the water on Earth

Earth carries about 1.386 billion cubic kilometres of water — and roughly 97 percent of it sits in the ocean. NOAA estimates the ocean alone contains around 1.335 billion cubic kilometres (321 million cubic miles).

Everything else — the ice caps and glaciers, all groundwater, every lake and river, and the moisture in the atmosphere — makes up the remaining 3 percent. Most of that is locked in ice, leaving only a sliver as accessible fresh water.

The ocean also covers about 70 percent of the planet’s surface, which is why Earth looks blue from space. For all our maps and coastlines, this is overwhelmingly a water world.