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Paris (pte028/05.03.2003/12:24) - UNESCO http://www.unesco.org revealed a new study on the quality of water in various countries around the world today in Paris.
The report ranked 122 countries according to their quality of water and their ability and commitment to improve their situation. Criteria included the quantity and quality of freshwater, especially groundwater, wastewater treatment facilities and legal issues such as the application of pollution regulations.
Of the countries examined, Finland earned the highest marks with a composite indicator of 1.85, followed by Canada and New Zealand. Places four through six went to the United Kingdom, Japan, and Norway.
The Russian Federation placed seventh with a value of 1.30 ahead of the Republic of Korea, Sweden and France, while the United States did not manage to make the top ten, placing12th with an indicator of 1.04. A total of three northern European countries were among the best ten in the world.
Germany received surprisingly low marks, ranking 57th, while Switzerland (16) and Austria (18) scored higher.
Among eastern European countries, Hungary (14) ranked highest with an indicator of 0.93, followed by Slovenia (24) and Poland (34). Poland was followed closely by a cluster of eastern European countries that included the Czech Republic (36), Latvia (41), Estonia (42), Slovakia (44), Croatia (48), Bulgaria (51) and Lithuania (54). Ukraine had the lowest marks for eastern Europe, placing 95th with an indicator of minus 0.47.
Belgium was last on the list with minus 2.25 points, ranking just behind Jordan (119), India (120) and Morocco (121). The country's poor results are attributed to low quantity and quality of groundwater, as well as heavy industrial pollution.
The report predicts that "those 50 per cent of the world's population who live in developing countries and drink contaminated water will continue to be the most affected" by water problems in the future.
The entire study can be downloaded at http://www.unesco.org/bpi/wwdr/WWDR_chart2_eng.pdf
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