ULAN BATOR, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Mongolians who live in apartments use 140-160 liters of water per day while residents in slums, also known as ger districts, use 7-10 liters of water a day, the Mongolian government press office said Tuesday.

"Water consumption of Mongolians now sits at between 7 and 160 per day depending on where they live. In other words, Mongolia ranks in the middle of the list of countries in the world by per capita water consumption, adequacy and hygiene of drinking water," N. Enkhbayar, an advisor to the prime minister, said at an event discussing water supply and resources on the occasion of World Water Day which falls on Thursday.

He also said Mongolia has been implementing a number of measures to save water resources and increase access to fresh water.

Mongolia's water resources are unevenly distributed. In mountainous regions, water resources are sufficient. But in some desert areas, underground sources can account for 80 percent of total water consumption.

Around 30 percent of Mongolia's population has access to the water supply system. About 25 percent of the population receives water from the water transportation service, over 35 percent gets water from water supply points and less than 10 percent uses water from springs, rivers and snow water.