96% of bathing water in the European Union met the required quality standards in 2024, while 85% was assessed as "excellent" quality, according to the European Environment Agency's (EEA) annual report published on Wednesday. The proportion of water judged to be of "moderate" quality was limited to 1.5%, while the overall picture remained stable compared to the previous year.
In her statement, EU Environment Commissioner Jessica Roswall said that "Europeans can swim in complete safety at the vast majority of EU bathing spots".
This year's assessment covered more than 22,000 bathing spots in EU Member States, as well as in Albania and Switzerland. Water quality was classified into four categories – 'excellent', 'good', 'adequate' and 'poor' – based on microbiological analyses for pollutants mainly from wastewater and livestock activities.
Cyprus at the top of the ranking
Cyprus performed best in the EU with 99.2% of its waters rated as 'excellent' quality. This was followed by Bulgaria (97.9%), Greece (97%), Austria (95.8%) and Croatia (95.2%).
On the contrary, Albania was low in the ranking, with only 16% of the points being characterized as "excellent", recording a drop of 25 points compared to 2023. Poland showed a slight improvement, reaching 58.1%.
Cleaner sea waters
The waters of coastal areas showed overall better quality than those of rivers and lakes, due to the increased renewal and natural capacity for self-cleaning. Inland water resources are most severely affected by surface runoff, heavy rainfall or drought.
In 2023, 321 bathing spots in the EU were classified as 'poor' quality. Of these, 67 improved compared to 2022.
In cases where 'poor' quality is detected, national authorities are required to temporarily ban bathing, take measures to limit pollution and protect public health.
RES – EIA
