Which European countries have the cleanest swimming waters and why?

The European Environment Agency’s 2025 bathing water report assessed over 22.000 sites across the EU, Albania and Switzerland. The headline: 96 percent meet minimum safety standards, with 85 percent rated “excellent.”

Quality varies by water type. Coastal sites lead with 88 percent excellent ratings, lakes follow at 78 percent, and rivers lag at just 47 percent of about 1.200 sites. The main culprit is bacterial contamination from E. coli and intestinal enterococci, usually from sewage or manure runoff after heavy rain.

Country performance diverges sharply. Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria and Austria all exceed 95 percent excellent ratings, while Belgium, Hungary, Poland and Estonia fall below 70 percent.

The progress has fueled a revival of urban river swimming in Paris, Berlin, Budapest and Vilnius, unthinkable decades ago.

Current rules track only two types of bacteria, leaving chemical pollutants like PFAS and microplastics unmonitored. With climate change causing heavier rainfall and longer bathing seasons, the European Commission is reviewing the 20-year-old Bathing Water Directive to modernise it.