A new study by the European Environment Agency (EEA) revealed Cyprus and Greece are in the top five countries in Europe with the cleanest bathing waters.
The report put Cyprus in first place with 99.1%, Austria in second place with 98.5%, followed by Malta with 97.7%, Greece with 95.7% and Croatia with 95.6%.
The European Environment Agency note that the quality of bathing water is generally better in coastal locations than inland, with 87.4% of coastal bathing areas being classified as excellent, compared to 79.15% inland waters.
The annual assessment of European bathing sites shows how well environmental protection measures are implemented, allowing people to make informed decisions on where to go to best enjoy Europe's inland and coastal bathing sites.
In 2019, countries identified 22,295 bathing sites, 164 more than the previous year and 813 more than in the 2015 bathing season.
Last week, Greece announced a revised set of beach regulations to be implemented on all Greek beaches, to minimise the risk of Covid-19 contagion.
Greece was also recently ranked second in the world for the Blue Flag quality award list of beaches, marinas and sustainable tourism boats.
