1.1. Contact organisation
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
1.2. Contact organisation unit
E2: Environmental statistics and accounts; sustainable development
1.3. Contact name
Confidential because of GDPR
1.4. Contact person function
Confidential because of GDPR
1.5. Contact mail address
Joseph Bech building
5, Rue Alphonse Weicker
L-2721 Luxembourg
1.6. Contact email address
Confidential because of GDPR
1.7. Contact phone number
Confidential because of GDPR
1.8. Contact fax number
Confidential because of GDPR
2.1. Metadata last certified
30 April 2025
2.2. Metadata last posted
30 April 2025
2.3. Metadata last update
30 April 2025
The indicator is part of the EU Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicator set. It is used to monitor progress towards SDG 14 on conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine recources for sustainable development, and towards SDG 6 on ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all which are embedded in the European Commission’s Priorities under 'Sustaining our quality of life: food security, water and nature'.
SDG 14 aims to protect and ensure the sustainable use of oceans. This includes the reduction of marine pollution and the impacts of ocean acidification, the ending of overfishing and the conservation of marine and coastal areas and ecosystems. SDG 14 has strong interdependencies with a broad range of other SDGs, as oceans sustain coastal economies and livelihoods, contribute to food production and function as a carbon sink
The EU Bathing Water Directive is one of the success stories in EU water policy, aimed to protect human health and the environment by complementing the Water Framework Directive.
4.1. Data description
The indicator shows the share of inland and coastal bathing sites with excellent water quality in the EU and in other European countries. Bathing water quality is assessed according to standards for microbiological parameters (intestinal Enterococci and Escherichia coli). The indicator is calculated based on the moving average of at least 16 sampling events in four years to be sure that a realistic bathing water classification is achieved. The Bathing Water Directive (BWD) requires Member States to identify and assess the quality of all inland and marine bathing waters and to classify these waters as ‘poor’, ‘sufficient’, ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ depending on the levels of faecal bacteria detected.
4.2. Unit of measure
Number and % of bathing sites with excellent water quality
i. coastal water
ii. inland water
4.3. Reference Period
Calendar year
4.4. Accuracy - overall
Indicator from non-ESS sources. For assessment of accuracy please refer to the original source (see link to external data source and metadata in “Annexes”).
4.5. Source data
4.5.1. Source data - Organisation
European Environment Agency (EEA)
4.5.2. Source data - Comment
Data source: European Environment Agency (EEA)
Data provider: European Environment Agency (EEA)
5.1. Frequency of dissemination
5.1.1. Frequency of dissemination - Grade
Every year5.1.2. Frequency of dissemination - Comment
Indicator is updated annually in June.
5.2. Timeliness
5.2.1. Timeliness - Grade
T+1 year5.2.2. Timeliness - Comment
New data points are disseminated within one year after the reference year (bathing season).
6.1. Reference area
6.1.1. Reference Area - Grade
All EU MS6.1.2. Reference Area - Comment
Coastal water: Data are presented for all EU Member States (except landlocked countries) plus Albania and Montenegro.
Inland water: Data are presented for all EU Member States except Cyprus, and Malta, plus Albania and Switzerland.
6.2. Comparability - geographical
6.2.1. Comparability - geographical - Grade
All EU MS6.2.2. Comparability - geographical - Comment
Data are comparable between EU Member States respectively other presented countries.
A legislative and methodological transitional period occurred between 2008 to 2014, due to the initial implementation of the current Bathing Water Directive (BWD) repealing the previous BWD 76/160/EEC. Consequently, the period 2010-2015 should be regarded as transitional in relation to classification, with methodological changes from one season to the other. In this period, geographical comparability may be hampered to a certain degree. After this period comparability can be considered as at a high level.
6.3. Coverage - Time
6.3.1. Time Coverage - Grade
> 10 years6.3.2. Time Coverage - Comment
Presented time series (including EU aggregates) starts in 2011.
6.4. Comparability - over time
6.4.1. Comparability - over time - Grade
> 4 data points6.4.2. Comparability - over time - Comment
Length of comparable time series without methodological breaks is longer than 4 data points. A legislative and methodological transitional period occurred between 2008 to 2014, due to the initial implementation of the current Bathing Water Directive (BWD) repealing the previous BWD 76/160/EEC. Consequently, the period 2010-2015 should be regarded as transitional in relation to classification, with methodological changes from one season to the other. In this period, comparability over time may be hampered to a certain degree. After this period comparability can be considered as at a high level.
7.1. Dissemination format - Publications
Analysis of indicator is presented in Eurostat's annual monitoring report on Sustainable development in the EU (progress towards SDGs in the EU context).
7.2. Dissemination format - online database
See table sdg_14_40
7.3. Dissemination format - other
Eurostat dedicated section on SDGs: overview.
Copyrights: Eurostat Copyright/Licence Policy is applicable.
