Which country in Europe has the most water stress?

Malta has the most water stress in Europe: 72.6% of its available fresh water (2022). Next come Belgium (52.8% of its available fresh water) and North Macedonia (52.6% of its available fresh water).

Which country in Europe has the least water stress?

Iceland, with 0.4% of its available fresh water (2022).

What is the typical water stress of a country in Europe?

The median of the 38 countries in Europe is 8.1% of its available fresh water: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.

Where do the figures come from?

Fresh water taken for farms, industry and homes, as a share of the fresh water available after nature’s own needs. Past 100%, a country draws down groundwater or desalinates. Source: World Bank, 2022. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Countries in Europe by water stress

Fresh water taken for farms, industry and homes, as a share of the fresh water available after nature’s own needs. Past 100%, a country draws down groundwater or desalinates. 38 countries in Europe, highest first. World Bank, 2022

See it on the map

Map: Water stress — Europe — **1.8%4.3%**8%**14%33%68%**No data

Highest

72.6%

Malta

Median country

8.1%

half above, half below

Lowest

0.4%

Iceland

Countries in Europe by water stress, World Bank, 2022
#	Country	% of available water	Region
1	Malta	72.6%	Southern Europe
2	Belgium	52.8%	Western Europe
3	North Macedonia	52.6%	Southern Europe
4	Spain	43.3%	Southern Europe
5	Bulgaria	40.2%	Eastern Europe
6	Germany	35.4%	Western Europe
7	Poland	32.5%	Eastern Europe
8	Italy	29.8%	Southern Europe
9	Denmark	25.3%	Northern Europe
10	Czechia	22.0%	Eastern Europe
11	France	21.4%	Western Europe
12	Greece	20.3%	Southern Europe
13	Netherlands	16.7%	Western Europe
14	United Kingdom	14.4%	Northern Europe
15	Estonia	13.0%	Northern Europe
16	Moldova	12.6%	Eastern Europe
17	Portugal	12.3%	Southern Europe
18	Austria	8.7%	Western Europe
=19	Hungary	8.1%	Eastern Europe
=19	Ireland	8.1%	Northern Europe
21	Romania	7.6%	Eastern Europe
22	Finland	7.1%	Northern Europe
23	Switzerland	6.5%	Western Europe
24	Ukraine	6.3%	Eastern Europe
25	Serbia	5.7%	Southern Europe
26	Slovenia	5.6%	Southern Europe
27	Albania	4.8%	Southern Europe
28	Belarus	4.7%	Eastern Europe
29	Russia	4.1%	Eastern Europe
30	Luxembourg	4.0%	Western Europe
31	Sweden	3.6%	Northern Europe
32	Slovakia	2.4%	Eastern Europe
33	Lithuania	2.2%	Northern Europe
34	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2.1%	Southern Europe
35	Norway	2.0%	Northern Europe
36	Croatia	1.5%	Southern Europe
37	Latvia	1.0%	Northern Europe
38	Iceland	0.4%	Northern Europe

No World Bank figure for 6 countries: Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino, Vatican City.

Questions

Which country in Europe has the most water stress?: Malta has the most water stress in Europe: 72.6% of its available fresh water (2022). Next come Belgium (52.8% of its available fresh water) and North Macedonia (52.6% of its available fresh water).
Which country in Europe has the least water stress?: Iceland, with 0.4% of its available fresh water (2022).
What is the typical water stress of a country in Europe?: The median of the 38 countries in Europe is 8.1% of its available fresh water: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
Where do the figures come from?: Fresh water taken for farms, industry and homes, as a share of the fresh water available after nature’s own needs. Past 100%, a country draws down groundwater or desalinates. Source: World Bank, 2022. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.