The volume of freshwater resources per inhabitant is considered to be an important indicator for measuring the sustainability of water resources.
According to the 'World water development report' of the United Nations, a country experiences 'water stress' when its annual water resources drop below 1 700 m³ per inhabitant.
Among the EU Member States, Poland, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Malta fell beneath this threshold. Malta recorded the lowest volume of water resources with 220 m³ per person.
In the EU, Croatia recorded the highest volume of freshwater resources (with a long-term average of 27 330 m³ per inhabitant). Finland and Sweden had the next highest volumes at around 20 000 m³.
For more information, see Eurostat's Statistics Explained article on water statistics.