The majority of bathing sites in the European Union in 2025 are classified as having excellent water quality, with Cyprus, Greece and Bulgaria showing the best results. The data is from the latest annual report of the European Environment Agency, published on the European Commission website.
The analysis covers both coastal areas and inland bathing waters. It was carried out in 27 EU countries, as well as Switzerland and Albania, and mainly assesses the presence of bacteria that may pose a risk to health.
According to the results, 100% of bathing waters in Cyprus are of excellent quality. In Greece, the share reaches 97.1%, and in Bulgaria – 96.9%, which places the three countries among the leaders in Europe.
At the other end of the scale are Poland with 58.7% excellent waters, Estonia with 56.9% and Albania with only 16.8%. However, the low percentage of “excellent“ waters does not mean that the rest are unsuitable for bathing – in Albania, for example, a significant proportion are rated “good“ (38.1%), “satisfactory“ (23%) or “poor“ (23%).
In total, 85% of all bathing sites in Europe are classified as having excellent quality, and 96% of the sites monitored in the EU meet the minimum standards. Only around 1.5% fall into the “poor quality“ category. The data shows that overall the situation remains stable compared to the previous year and that there is a gradual improvement in the long term, which is linked to the implementation of EU bathing water legislation and investment in treatment systems.
“The results once again show the importance of EU environmental legislation and long-term investment in wastewater treatment“, said Jessika Roswall. According to her, thanks to these efforts, European citizens have access to some of the highest standards of bathing water in the world, but serious challenges related to pollution, biodiversity loss and climate change remain.
The assessment is based on monitoring of more than 22,200 bathing sites across Europe, reported for the 2025 season.