Where in Europe is the cleanest bathing water? New beach ranking published
Most European beaches have clean and safe bathing water, but significant differences are observed between countries. A new report from the European Environment Agency has shown where water meets the highest standards and where tourists should be more cautious.
Poland, Kołobrzeg, Baltic Sea. Photo: Nasha Niva
The European Environment Agency has published a report on the state of water in popular bathing areas. The monitoring covered more than 22,000 coastal and inland recreational areas in EU countries, Albania, and Switzerland.
The assessment methodology is based on the Bathing Water Directive. It involves taking and analyzing water samples for the presence of bacteria, which indicate the entry of sewage into water bodies. High concentrations of such microorganisms can cause gastrointestinal diseases in humans. Testing is carried out regularly throughout the bathing season, after which the site is assigned a corresponding rating: from unsatisfactory to excellent.
Proportion of bathing waters of excellent quality in European countries in 2025. Photo: eea.europa.eu
Results for 2025 show that overall European waters remain safe: 87.4% of Europe's coastal marine waters received the highest rating – "excellent." Poor water quality was recorded only on a small number of beaches.
The absolute leaders were Cyprus, Lithuania, and Slovenia. In these countries, all coastal bathing areas without exception received an "excellent" rating. Also, no beaches with poor water quality were found in Belgium, Bulgaria, Latvia, Malta, and Romania.
Coastal bathing water quality by country in 2025. Red indicates poor quality water. Photo: eea.europa.eu
On the other side of the ranking was Albania. Almost a quarter of its coastal bathing areas — 23% — received a "poor" rating. For comparison, in Estonia, which ranked second in this indicator, only 6.7% of beaches were deemed problematic, in Finland — 2.6%.
What about rivers and lakes?
Another feature of the study was the large gap between marine beaches and inland waters. While almost nine out of ten coastal bathing areas received the highest rating, the situation in lakes and rivers is significantly worse.
On average, only 78.3% of inland waters were deemed "excellent." Rivers proved to be particularly problematic: only 47% of river bathing areas received such a rating.
The best indicators for inland bathing waters (90%) last year were recorded in Austria, Finland, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Germany. However, in Slovenia, Portugal, Poland, Croatia, and Spain, this figure was less than 60%.
Inland bathing water quality by country in 2025. Red indicates poor quality water. Photo: eea.europa.eu
At the same time, the largest proportion of inland waters with poor water quality was recorded in Spain — 11%. This was followed by Croatia (7.1%) and France (6%).
Researchers note that maintaining the cleanliness of marine water is easier due to currents that carry pollutants away from the shore. In lakes and rivers, harmful substances remain much longer, so controlling their quality requires greater effort.
For tourists, the report means one thing: before traveling to popular resorts, one should pay attention not only to prices and weather but also to water quality. Although bathing remains safe in most European countries, some regions still have problems with pollution.
Belarus was not covered by the study.
Who are the two characters who didn't drink in interwar Vilnius, how Zoska Veras was awakened from lethargy, and is the story about Karatkevich and the restaurant true? 11
Comments