Pafos Live 29 May 2024
Cyprus was the country with the highest percentage of bathing water considered to be of excellent quality in 2023, with 97.6%, according to data released by the European Environment Agency in cooperation with the European Commission.
Cyprus is followed in the list of countries with excellent bathing waters by Austria (96.9%), Croatia (96.7) and Greece (95.8%). In Belgium, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Malta, Austria and Romania, all officially recognised bathing waters met at least the minimum quality standard.
More broadly in the EU, 85.4% of water in 2023 in the EU met the criteria to be classified as 'excellent'. 96% of all sites recorded as bathing waters in the EU met minimum standards, with only 1.5% assessed as 'poor'.
The standards set out in the assessment relate to bathing safety, focusing on bacteria that can cause serious illness in humans rather than on general water quality.
Bathing quality in coastal waters was generally better than in freshwater zones, with 89% of classified coastal bathing sites classified as excellent in 2023, compared to 79% of inland bathing waters.
Since the adoption of the Bathing Water Directive in 2006, the percentage of bathing waters with poor water quality has decreased and has remained stable since 2015.
However, health risks from bathing continue to be a problem, with 321 'bad' areas recorded in the EU in 2023.
