🇸🇪 Bathing water quality in Sweden

Also known as Sverige, Szwecja. 480 officially monitored bathing sites, tested all season for sewage bacteria.

480monitored sites
81%rated Excellent
10rated Poor
30turned around

Home › Sweden

Excellent: 373Good: 56Sufficient: 19Not classified: 22Poor: 10

⚠️ Rated Poor in Sweden — think twice

A Poor classification means persistent contamination across recent seasons. Authorities must advise against bathing, or ban it, at these sites.

✅ The safest bets in Sweden

Sites that have held the top rating five seasons in a row — not a one-year fluke.

📈 Turned around

These were rated Poor or Sufficient a few seasons ago and are Excellent today.

📍 Destinations in Sweden

Common questions about swimming in Sweden

Is it safe to swim in Sweden?
Mostly yes. 81% of Sweden's 480 officially monitored bathing sites hold the top "Excellent" class in the 2025 assessment, but 10 sites are rated Poor — bathing there is advised against or banned all season.
Which beaches in Sweden should I avoid?
The 10 rated Poor: Ängbybadet Ö, Mälaren, Hallarum, Kaananbadet Ö, Mälaren, Långholmens Strandbad, Maltesholmsbadet, Strand, Näsaängsbadet and 4 more. Poor means the site failed the minimum standard across four seasons of sampling.
Where is the water cleanest in Sweden?
281 sites have held the top rating five seasons running — a far better signal than a single good year. Around Stockholm, Malmo, Gothenburg you will find the densest clusters.
How often is water quality tested in Sweden?
Through the whole bathing season. National sanitary authorities sample each official site for E. coli and intestinal enterococci, report to the European Environment Agency, and the published class reflects the last four seasons combined.

Ratings are the official season-long classification, computed from the last four seasons of sampling — not a live reading. After a storm any site can be temporarily worse; local advisories win.