2026 sees Portugal given yet another resounding thumbs up by the European Environment Agency (EEA) for the quality of its beaches, and their waters.
Say reports, Portugal continues to rank among Europe’s top destinations for clean and safe bathing waters with 559 beaches awarded an “excellent” water quality rating in 2025, according to new data released by the EEA.
The latest monitoring report shows that 82% of Portugal’s 682 monitored bathing sites achieved the highest classification – an increase of three beaches compared with 2024.
The findings indicate that bathing water quality across Portugal remained consistently high during last year’s bathing season – reinforcing the country’s reputation as a leading beach tourism destination.
In addition to the 559 beaches rated excellent, 75 sites (11%) were classified as “good”, 19 (2.8%) as “sufficient”, and 12 (1.8%) as “poor”. A further 17 beaches were not classified.
Compared with the previous year, Portugal recorded modest improvements across most categories. The number of beaches rated “excellent” rose from 556 to 559, while those classified as “good” increased from 73 to 75 and “sufficient” sites rose from 15 to 19.
There was a slight niggle in the detail though – the number of beaches receiving a “poor” rating increased from nine to 12.
The annual assessment is based on microbiological testing carried out under the European Union’s Bathing Water Directive, which measures levels of bacteria that indicate pollution and assesses the safety of bathing areas.
Across Europe, bathing water quality remained stable in 2025. According to the EEA, 84.8% of all monitored bathing sites met the EU’s highest “excellent” standard, while 96% complied with minimum water quality requirements. Only 1.5% were classified as poor.
The best-performing countries were Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Greece – all of which recorded more than 95% of bathing waters in the excellent category.
The report also found that coastal waters generally outperform inland bathing sites. Across the EU, 88% of coastal bathing waters were rated excellent in 2025, compared with 78% of rivers and lakes.
Around 22,000 bathing waters are monitored across Europe each year, with data supplied by 29 participating countries and assessed by the European Environment Agency.
Source: LUSA/ SIC Notícias
