To break the numbers down, 96.5% of all the Earth's water is contained within the oceans as salt water, while the remaining 3.5% is freshwater lakes and frozen water locked up in glaciers and the polar ice caps. Of that fresh water, almost all of it takes the form of ice: 69% of it, to be exact. read more
In simplest terms, water makes up about 71% of the Earth’s surface, while the other 29% consists of continents and islands. To break the numbers down, 96.5% of all the Earth’s water is contained within the oceans as salt water, while the remaining 3.5% is freshwater lakes and frozen water locked up in glaciers and the polar ice caps. read more
97% of the water on Earth is in the ocean, or saltwater. 3% is freshwater. See the related link for more information. on the earth's surface, 97% of the water is salt water, though in the 3% that is fresh water, most of it is locked in iceburgs, and things of that icy nature. read more
The total amount of water as a percentage of all the mass that makes up our planet is estimated at 0.023%; that's 2.3 one-hundredths of one percent! read more