European bathing water report: Estonia's water quality is among the worst in Europe

A fresh review by the European Environment Agency shows that 85% of EU bathing sites have excellent water quality. Estonia stands out unfortunately in a negative light, with our bathing water quality being among Europe's poorest, falling below all other countries except Albania.

The European Environment Agency's newly published bathing water quality report gives Estonia a concerning assessment. While the overall picture in Europe is positive, with 85% of EU bathing sites meeting excellent quality requirements, Estonia ranks among the poorest, trailing almost all other countries in rankings. Only Albania's bathing water is more polluted than Estonia's.

The picture in Europe is bright

The report paints a generally encouraging picture across EU member states. The vast majority of bathing sites pass the excellent water quality test, meaning Europeans have more opportunity than ever before to swim safely in both seas and inland waters. In several Southern and Northern European countries, the share of bathing sites with excellent quality is even higher than the EU average.

Estonia lags behind

Estonia's results stand out as notably poor against this bright backdrop. Estonia's bathing water quality places us at the bottom of the European countries ranking, with only Albania standing as the sole country with worse indicators. This means that Estonia's bathing site water quality falls below even many developing European countries, which is a worrying signal regarding domestic swimming conditions.