Albania has the poorest water quality at its coastal swimming locations in Europe, according to a new report analyzing data from 2025. Twenty-three percent of Albania's coastal bathing sites were rated as 'poor,' a classification indicating unacceptable levels of contamination.
This figure is more than three times the proportion found in Estonia, which ranked second worst with 6.7 percent of its beaches receiving a 'poor' rating. For Albania, only 16 percent of its beaches were rated 'excellent,' and 38 percent were considered 'good.' This contrasts sharply with the European Union average, where 88 percent of coastal bathing areas achieved an 'excellent' rating.
The findings are based on monitoring conducted at approximately 22,000 coastal and inland bathing sites across the EU, Albania, and Switzerland. The 'Bathing Water Directive' (BWD) assesses water safety for swimming by testing for bacteria that signal the presence of faecal matter and sewage. Ingesting polluted water can lead to illnesses such as gastrointestinal problems and diarrhea.
While Albania's coastal waters were found to have a high percentage of 'poor' ratings, the overall water quality across Europe remains high. The report indicates that 87.4 percent of all coastal waters were classified as 'excellent,' with only a small fraction rated 'poor.' Leena Yla–Mononen, director of the European Environment Agency, stated that the implementation of EU bathing water rules has resulted in a vast majority of bathing waters being clean enough for swimming.
Countries such as Cyprus, Lithuania, and Slovenia reported that 100 percent of their coastal bathing spots were rated 'excellent.' Belgium, Bulgaria, Latvia, Malta, and Romania had no coastal locations rated as 'poor.' In Ireland, 78 percent of coastal swimming locations received an 'excellent' status, with only 0.7 percent rated 'poor.'
The report also highlighted disparities in water quality between coastal areas and inland sites like lakes and rivers. While 78 percent of inland bathing sites across Europe were rated 'excellent,' rivers fared worse, with only 47 percent achieving this rating. Spain had a significant proportion of inland swimming locations considered 'poor' at 11 percent, followed by Croatia (7.1 percent) and France (6 percent).
Separate studies concerning the UK, which were not included in the European data, indicate similar issues with river pollution. Of the UK's official river swimming locations, only two were found to have sufficient water quality, with the remainder advised against for bathing. Additionally, 26 coastal locations in the UK have 'advice against bathing' notices due to poor water quality. A charity, Surfers Against Sewage, has reported thousands of sickness incidents linked to swimming at official bathing locations in recent years.